'Missing' athletics coach Baptiste serving prison sentence in Morocco
An English athletics coach said by media reports to be missing is serving a prison sentence in Morocco, BBC Sport can reveal.
English athletics coach Leon Baptiste is currently serving a prison sentence in Morocco for sexually assaulting a minor, according to BBC Sport. Baptiste, who was coaching a group of top British track athletes ahead of the Commonwealth Games and European Championships, went missing over three months ago. Neither UK Athletics nor the sprinters he coached knew why he was absent from contact.
In May, Baptiste informed his group of athletes he would be absent for a while, but provided no further explanation. He subsequently resigned from his position citing unspecified ill health. Baptiste was arrested in Marrakech in May, convicted and sentenced to a prison term that was later reduced to eight months. He is currently held in Al-Oudaya prison in good health.
UK Athletics and the sprinters he coached were left without a designated coach during a crucial period for their careers, causing concern among the British athletics community, including former Olympic and Paralympic medallists. The foreign national was not subject to any disappearance or unexplained absence, according to Moroccan authorities.
UK Foreign Office is supporting the detained British national, while Baptiste's family are aware of his imprisonment.
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