Former Commonwealth Games gold medallist Leon Baptiste jailed in Morocco for sexually assaulting a minor
Leon Baptiste, a former sprint champion who coached Britain's top track athletes, is serving a prison sentence in Morocco for sexually assaulting a minor.
A source at the Moroccan Ministry of Justice told BBC Sport that Baptiste, 41, was arrested in Marrakech in May. A spokesperson for the Morocco Public Prosecution Office confirmed both his conviction and his sentence. He is being held at Al-Oudaya prison.
Baptiste was originally sentenced to 10 months in prison. That term was later reduced to eight months on appeal. Under Moroccan law, a minor is defined as anyone under 18. BBC Sport
The case remained unknown to the public for months. Back in England, the athletes Baptiste coached received a message from him in May saying he would be absent from training for a while. Then, on a Tuesday, an email sent on his behalf announced his resignation from his coaching position, citing unspecified ill health.
Baptiste worked as a consultant sprinting coach for UK Athletics, guiding leading British track athletes in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games and European Championships. He travelled to Marrakech with three other British former athletes, all of whom have since returned to the UK.
A UK Foreign Office spokesperson said the government is supporting a British national detained in Morocco and is in contact with the local authorities. Baptiste's family are understood to be aware of his imprisonment.
Before his coaching career, Baptiste was a decorated sprinter. He won the 200m gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, the pinnacle of a competitive career on the track.
The quiet manner of his departure from coaching — a brief message, then a resignation email blaming ill health — now sits against a very different reality, confirmed by Moroccan prosecutors.
