Marrakech – A British athletics coach described in recent media reports as “missing” is in fact serving a prison sentence in Marrakech after being convicted of sexually assaulting a minor, according to a Wednesday report published by BBC Sport.
Leon Baptiste, 41, a former sprinter and UK Athletics consultant coach, dropped out of contact more than three months ago. The BBC report revealed that he was arrested in Marrakech in May, later convicted, and is now held at Al-Oudaya prison.
Baptiste had been coaching several leading British track athletes ahead of this summer’s Commonwealth Games and European Championships. Neither UK Athletics nor the sprinters he trained knew why he had gone off the grid.
In May, Baptiste reportedly sent his group a brief message telling them he would be absent from training “for a while.” No further explanation followed. Over the weekend, media outlets reported him as missing in Morocco.
The picture shifted on Tuesday. According to the BBC, an email sent on Baptiste’s behalf informed those he coached that he was resigning, citing unspecified ill health.
A source at the Moroccan Ministry of Justice reportedly confirmed the case to BBC Sport. That source described the “disappearance” reports as “inaccurate” and stated that the coach “had not lost contact with his surroundings and was not subject to any disappearance or unexplained absence.”
According to the same source, Baptiste is “currently being held at the local prison in Marrakech, where he is serving a custodial sentence following his conviction by the competent judicial authorities in connection with a misdemeanour case.” The source added that he was “in good health.”
The BBC report noted that Baptiste was originally sentenced to 10 months in prison, later reduced to eight months on appeal. A spokesperson for the Morocco Public Prosecution Office reportedly confirmed the sentence and the nature of the conviction, describing him as held in Marrakech “following a court judgment against him.” Under Moroccan law, a minor is anyone under 18.
Beyond the BBC’s reporting, Moroccan authorities have not issued an official public statement confirming the case.
The UK Foreign Office told the BBC it was “supporting a British national who is detained in Morocco” and was in contact with local authorities. Sources cited by the broadcaster indicated that Baptiste traveled to Marrakech with three other British former athletes, all of whom have since returned home. His family is understood to be aware of his imprisonment.
His absence had a direct impact on the athletes he coached. Olympic bronze medallist Charlie Dobson and Paralympic silver medallist Zac Shaw were left without a designated coach before the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the European Championships in Birmingham. Adam Gemili and relay coach Martyn Rooney stepped in, though the athletes’ training was heavily disrupted.
Baptiste, a 200m gold medallist at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, retired at 28 after knee problems. The BBC traced his conviction through online court records, which Moroccan authorities later confirmed as accurate.
