BBC Sport Reveals Five More British Sportsmen Convicted in Morocco Case Alongside Coach Leon Baptiste
Five British sportsmen — including two-time Commonwealth hurdling silver medallist Will Sharman — were convicted in Morocco in the same case that led to the imprisonment of UK Athletics coach Leon Baptiste, BBC Sport has revealed.
Baptiste, a 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist for England in the 200m, was convicted of sexual assault of a minor and given a 10-month prison sentence, later reduced to eight months on appeal. He had been reported missing before being located serving that sentence in a Moroccan prison (BBC Sport, 19 August 2026).
The full picture, reported by BBC Sport on 28 August 2026, names Will Sharman, his brother and former bobsleigh athlete Richard Sharman, fellow ex-bobsleigh competitor Lamin Deen, Ashley O'Leary Jones and David Tuck as convicted alongside Baptiste. The five were found guilty of participating in the enticement of a minor. They received suspended sentences of four months and fines of 500 dirhams (about £40) each, handed down in June. All five were acquitted of a separate charge of inciting a minor to engage in prostitution. Their convictions and sentences were upheld after an appeal hearing in July.
The case began when police raided a villa in Tamensourt, on the outskirts of Marrakech. A 16-year-old girl told officers she had been brought to the property and not paid money she said had been promised in exchange for sex with Baptiste. She also reported being assaulted by a housekeeper after being accused of stealing a watch. Court documents refer to the girl as 16 years old and state she suffered psychological trauma, sexual exploitation, physical assault and injury, and violation of her human dignity.
By the time the court's decision was handed down, all five men had already left Morocco. Through their lawyers, Sharman, his brother, Deen, O'Leary Jones and Tuck said they were never arrested and were unaware of their convictions until BBC Sport informed them.
Will Sharman, 40, won Commonwealth silver in the 110m hurdles at both Delhi 2010 and Glasgow 2014, making him one of Britain's most decorated sprint hurdlers of the modern era. His brother Richard competed in bobsleigh, as did Lamin Deen, who represented Great Britain at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.
Baptiste, now 39, coaches within the UK Athletics system. His 200m gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi was one of the standout English performances of those Games.
The convictions place several figures connected to British Olympic and Commonwealth sport inside a single criminal proceeding in Morocco, with sentences already upheld on appeal.
