Athletics coach believed missing is in jail for sexual assault

An English athletics coach and former gold medallist said by media reports to be missing is serving a prison sentence in Morocco for sexually assaulting a minor, BBC Sport can reveal.

Leon Baptiste, who was coaching a clutch of top British track athletes in the run-up to this summer's Commonwealth Games and European Championships, suddenly went off the grid more than three months ago.

Neither UK Athletics, for whom he worked as a consultant sprinting coach, nor the sprinters he coached knew why he was out of contact.

In May, Baptiste sent the group of athletes he coached a short message saying he would be absent from training "for a while". They have been given no further explanation.

Over the weekend, he was reported in the media as being "missing" and was said to have disappeared in Morocco.

On Tuesday, a brief email was sent to the people coached on behalf of Baptiste - the 200m gold medallist at the 2010 Commonwealth Games - in which he resigned from the position, citing unspecified ill health.

A source at the Moroccan Ministry of Justice confirmed to BBC Sport that Baptiste was arrested in Marrakech in May, has subsequently been convicted and is now serving a custodial sentence in Al-Oudaya prison.

Baptiste was originally sentenced to 10 months in prison, later reduced to eight months on appeal.

"In relation to the reports concerning the alleged 'disappearance of Leon Baptiste' - an English athletics coach reportedly missing in Morocco for more than two months under questionable circumstances - please note that the information published in this regard is inaccurate and does not reflect the facts of the case," said the source.

"The foreign national concerned had not lost contact with his surroundings and was not subject to any disappearance or unexplained absence.

"He 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."

They added Baptiste, 41, was "in good health".

A spokesperson for the Morocco Public Prosecution Office confirmed the sentence and nature of the conviction, adding: "The British national is currently being held at the local prison in Marrakech, where he is serving a custodial sentence following a court judgment against him in connection with his involvement in a criminal case."

In Morocco, a minor is deemed to be under 18.

Asked directly about Baptiste, a UK Foreign Office spokesperson said: "We are supporting a British national who is detained in Morocco and are in contact with the authorities."

Sources told BBC Sport that Baptiste travelled to Marrakech with three other British former athletes, who have all since returned to the UK.

BBC Sport has made attempts to contact the athletes but had no reply.

Baptiste's family are understood to be aware of his imprisonment.

Baptiste's absence left some British sprinters - including Olympic bronze medallist Charlie Dobson and Paralympic silver medallist Zac Shaw - without a designated coach before the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and European Championships in Birmingham.

Four-time European gold medallist Adam Gemili and relay coach Martyn Rooney stepped in to provide extra assistance to the athletes affected by Baptiste's abrupt departure.

But BBC Sport has been told the sprinters' training was heavily disrupted during a crucial period of their careers, leaving them ill-prepared and frustrated.

BBC Sport has approached UK Athletics for comment.

How did 'missing' reports turn into news of a prison sentence?

Once Baptiste's disappearance was reported in the media last weekend, BBC Sport began investigating his whereabouts.

We contacted a variety of figures in the British athletics community, people who know Baptiste, the UK Foreign Office, and authorities in Morocco in order to piece together the timeline of events.

It quickly became clear that Baptiste's whereabouts were known but his status was being withheld.

But Moroccan authorities confirmed details of Baptiste's case to BBC Sport when asked to do so.

BBC Sport then found details of Baptiste's conviction in online court records, and the authorities confirmed their accuracy.