British athletics coach Leon Baptiste jailed in Morocco

After being thought missing for more than a week, the BBC reported Wednesday that United Kingdom Athletics (UKA) coach Leon Baptiste was arrested in Morocco in May for sexually assaulting a minor and is serving a 10-month prison sentence in a Marrakech prison. Baptiste, 41, was first reported missing by British media on Aug. 14, after colleagues and athletes he coached raised concerns with British authorities. He worked as a consulting sprint coach, and neither the athletes he trained nor UKA knew why he disappeared.

Exclusive: BBC Sport can reveal that Leon Baptiste, the former gold medallist and Team GB athletics coach who was reported ‘missing’ in Morocco by the media, is serving a prison sentence in Marrakech for sexually assaulting a minor.

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Why was he believed missing?

Baptiste travelled to Marrakech in May with three other former British athletes for a vacation. While the others have since returned to the United Kingdom, Baptiste remained in Morocco. At the time, his athletes were only told that he would be absent from training “for a while.” As the months passed, they grew concerned when he would not respond to messages and kept missing training sessions.

Athletes and colleagues subsequently reported him missing to British authorities and spoke to the media in an effort to raise awareness of his disappearance.

What actually happened?

Following an investigation and increased international attention, an email was sent on Baptiste’s behalf Tuesday saying he had resigned from his position with UKA because of unspecified health issues.

An undisclosed source at Morocco’s Ministry of Justice told the BBC that the account was inaccurate. According to the source, Baptiste had been convicted of sexually assaulting a minor and was serving a 10-month custodial sentence at Al-Oudaya prison. The sentence was reduced to eight months following an appeal.

“The information published in this regard is inaccurate and does not reflect the facts of the case,” the source said. “The foreign national (Baptiste) concerned had not lost contact with his surroundings and was not subject to any disappearance or unexplained absence.”

The source also indicated that Baptiste is in good health. His family is reported to have known about his imprisonment before he was thought missing.

The former British athletes who he went to Morocco with have declined to comment; his athletes have not commented; UKA has remained quiet; and his family have not commented other than to acknowledge they were aware of his imprisonment. The only commentary from a British source (after he was discovered to be imprisoned) came from a UK Foreign Office spokesperson who said: “We are supporting a British national who is detained in Morocco and are in contact with the authorities.”

Who is Baptiste?

Baptiste won gold in the 200m at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, but was forced to retire in 2012 after ongoing knee issues upended his career. Since retiring, he has coached British sprinters, including 4x400m Olympic bronze medallist Charlie Dobson and Paralympic silver medallist Zac Shaw.

Baptiste’s arrest came during the lead-up to the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the European Championships in Birmingham, which would have disrupted the training schedules of the athletes he coached.