Illegal immigrant rideshare driver charged with rape in Maryland had prior NYC sex abuse arrest
An illegal immigrant rideshare driver accused of sexually assaulting a teenage female passenger in Maryland has a history of sex abuse in New York, federal authorities said.
Abdoulaye Dia, of Lanham, Maryland, was charged with first-degree rape, kidnapping, second-degree assault and third-degree sex offense, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said.
On Tuesday, Montgomery County Police officers were called to a hospital where an underage teen girl reported a rape. She told police she was raped by an Empower rideshare driver.
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Dia, a citizen of Guinea, took her to a parking lot in Silver Spring, where the alleged assault occurred.
Investigators identified Dia through information obtained from the rideshare app. He was arrested Wednesday.
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Empower told Fox News Digital that all its drivers undergo background, sex offender, motor vehicle, and Social Security traces. Furthermore, they are vetted against the same global watchlist used by Uber and Lyft, through the exact same screening provider.
"The background check, sex offender check, driving record check, social security trace, and global watchlist search on this customer were conducted on July 16, 2026 and did not reveal any incidents," the company said about Dia. "The Montgomery County Police Department reached out to Empower about this incident. Empower, as is our policy, asked law enforcement what Empower could do to assist their investigation and immediately provided all information requested."
Dia was previously arrested June 10 in New York City for sexual abuse by forcible compulsion, forcible touching of the sexual/intimate parts of another person, injuring a child less than 17 and sexual abuse without consent, a DHS spokesperson told Fox News.
He entered the United States illegally through Arizona in December 2023 and was released by the Biden administration, DHS said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Empower for comment.