A 62 year old man who lived a quiet, pro-social life for over three decades has been sentenced to eight years in a federal penitentiary for two violent and unrelated sexual assaults committed in Toronto and Oakville in 1987 and 19931. The cases remained cold for decades until a persistent police investigation, aided by advancements in genetic genealogy, identified Bradley Britton as the attacker, leading to his arrest in July 2023.
In a ruling released on September 10, 2025, Ontario Superior Court Justice Conlan imposed the sentence after Mr. Britton pleaded guilty to both historical offences. The court heard disturbing details of the two attacks, which were linked by DNA in 2003 but remained unsolved until modern forensic techniques pointed investigators to Mr. Britton nearly twenty years later.
The first offence occurred in the early morning hours of May 23, 1987, in Toronto. The victim, a 28 year old married mother of three identified as N.G., was asleep in her Jane Street apartment with her one year old daughter beside her. Her husband and two older daughters were asleep in an adjacent room. She awoke between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m. to find Mr. Britton, then 24 years old and a complete stranger, in her bedroom.
According to the agreed facts, Mr. Britton covered her mouth, warning her to be quiet. He then produced a long kitchen knife, which he had brought with him, and placed the tip to her neck. He moved the knife to the pillow beside her head before removing her underwear and tank top, using the shirt to cover her eyes. He proceeded to sexually assault and rape her. During the assault, he forced her to say the sex was better than with her husband. Before leaving the apartment, which he had entered by prying open the front door, Mr. Britton threatened N.G., telling her not to tell anyone and warning her that he knew who she was and where she lived. N.G., who is now deceased, later told police she was afraid she was going to die.
The second attack took place nearly six years later, on February 7, 1993, in Oakville. The victim, a 20 year old woman identified as A.N., was walking home from a movie rental store in the afternoon. She was petite, standing less than five feet tall. As she walked, she heard someone running up quickly behind her. Mr. Britton grabbed her around the neck and pushed her into an alcove beneath a highway, pinning her against a wall with his hand over her mouth and nose.
Mr. Britton threatened to kill her if she did not comply with his demands. He then pulled down her jeans, tights, and underwear and sexually assaulted her. The court heard that A.N. was crying and repeatedly told Mr. Britton she did not want to have sex, also informing him she was wearing a tampon. Mr. Britton forced her to bend over and removed the tampon himself, discarding it on the ground where it was later found by police. He then vaginally penetrated her while holding both his hands around her neck. When he was finished, he told her to count to 20 before moving and again warned her not to tell anyone, stating he would be watching her. A.N. managed to flag down a passing car for help. A subsequent police investigation determined that Mr. Britton had been hiding behind a gravestone, watching the walking path, before running out to attack A.N.
For decades, both cases went unsolved. A breakthrough occurred in 2003 when DNA from N.G.’s sexual assault kit was matched to DNA from the 1993 Oakville assault, confirming the same unknown attacker was responsible. Still, his identity remained a mystery. The court credited a “dogged, a determined police investigation by both Toronto and Halton authorities” and the assistance of an expert genealogy laboratory in Texas for finally identifying Mr. Britton as the suspect in 2023.
At the sentencing hearing, the court heard two vastly different portraits of Bradley Britton. The Crown, represented by Ms. K. Frew, focused on the horrific nature of the crimes, while the defence, led by Mr. L. Adler, presented a man who had changed his life completely in the intervening years.
A victim impact statement written by N.G.’s daughters, described by Justice Conlan as “heart-wrenching,” detailed how their mother was never the same person again after the attack, affecting her physically and mentally for the rest of her life.
Mr. Britton, now 62, has a criminal record of 16 offences committed between 1981 and 1989, though none were for sexual assault or violence. He has not had any legal trouble since 1989. In a written letter and a statement made in court, he took full responsibility for the crimes and expressed remorse.
A presentence report and a psychiatric assessment by Dr. Julian Gojer detailed a troubled history for Mr. Britton, including exposure to family violence and abuse as a child, as well as a long history of drug and alcohol addiction. Mr. Britton told the report’s author that he does not recall the offences, which the court noted suggested substance use was a factor. However, he has been sober for many years. Dr. Gojer’s report concluded that Mr. Britton no longer meets the criteria for antisocial personality disorder, could not be diagnosed as a sexual deviant, and presents a low risk to reoffend.
Since 1996, Mr. Britton has maintained a solid employment history in the tow truck industry. He is currently not working due to several chronic medical conditions that cause him significant pain. Numerous reference letters described him as a good friend, helpful volunteer, and dedicated worker. The court also accepted that he has been a “dedicated, supportive, and loving father” to his son, with whom he shares a special bond.
These competing factors led to vastly different sentencing proposals. The Crown argued for a total sentence of 10 years in prison. The defence proposed a conditional sentence of two years less a day, to be served in the community under strict conditions, followed by three years of probation.
Justice Conlan ultimately determined that a conditional sentence would not be appropriate. He noted that the “gravity of these two offences is very significant” and Mr. Britton’s “degree of responsibility is very high.” He described the facts of the attacks as “some of the most heinous and frightening that I have ever encountered as a judge” and stated they fall at the high end of the spectrum for seriousness. Notwithstanding the significant mitigating factors and the passage of time, Justice Conlan concluded that “a significant penitentiary sentence is the only reasonable disposition in this case.”
The final sentence was structured as five years for the 1987 sexual assault on N.G. and a consecutive three year term for the 1993 assault on A.N., for a global sentence of eight years. Justice Conlan explained that he deliberately tempered the individual sentences to respect the totality principle and to properly account for the mitigating factors, noting that a five year sentence for a home invasion sexual assault at knifepoint is “relatively low.”
In addition to the prison term, the court issued a primary DNA order, a weapons prohibition, and a no-contact order for A.N. and named members of N.G.’s family. The court also imposed a 20 year order requiring Mr. Britton to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Information Registration Act (SOIRA), declining the Crown’s request for a lifetime order but finding the defence’s position of no order to be unreasonable.
Read more crime stories here.
