A 43-year-old man from Gosport has been jailed for a total of 23 years after breaking into a family’s home in Sussex and being found in a teenage girl’s bedroom. Sussex Police says Christopher Buxey was sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court on Thursday 15 October 2026, and was also sentenced for child sex offences in Hampshire.
Offender. Christopher Buxey, 43, of Privett Place, Gosport, Hampshire.
Court. Portsmouth Crown Court, Thursday 15 October 2026.
Sentence. 18 years in custody and five years on licence, a total of 23 years.
Sussex offences. Attempted false imprisonment, trespass with intent to commit a relevant sexual offence, and actual bodily harm.
Where. The family’s home in Sussex. We have not published its location, to protect the victims.
The break-in on 4 June
In the early hours of Thursday 4 June, Buxey broke into the home of a family he knew, forcing open a downstairs door. A teenage girl woke to find him in her bedroom, standing over her bed. Police say he was dressed in black, wearing a balaclava and black latex gloves, and was carrying pre-looped cable ties, with ten more attached to a carabiner on his belt.
The girl’s screams alerted her parents, who ran to her room. She was kicking at the intruder. Buxey tried to escape and assaulted her parents. They held him until officers arrived, and during that time he identified himself to the family. Officers arrested him and took him into custody.
Police seized duct tape, a torch he had left by the girl’s bed, and a multitool with a hammer that he had left on her pillow. A rucksack belonging to him, holding similar items, was found in the room.
The charges
Buxey was originally charged with attempted kidnap. At Portsmouth Crown Court on Monday 6 July, he pleaded not guilty to that charge but admitted attempted false imprisonment, which the court accepted. He also pleaded guilty to trespassing with intent to commit a relevant sexual offence and to actual bodily harm.
Sussex Police says the separate Hampshire offences, from a different investigation, were two counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, two counts of sexual assault of a child under 13 by penetration, two counts of taking indecent photographs of a child and three counts of making indecent photographs of a child.
What police say
“Buxey perpetrated immensely distressing ordeals on the victims and their families.”
Detective Superintendent Colin Garman, Sussex Police
Garman thanked officers from Sussex Police and Hampshire Police for supporting the victims and their families and for carrying out complex investigations. He said the sentence reflects the severity of the offences, and noted “the likely lasting impact on these children and their families” from the trauma inflicted.
Where to get support
Anyone worried about a child can contact the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000. Children and young people can speak to Childline for free on 0800 1111.
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