Guinea Driver Accused of Rape Has Dark Abuse History

Federal authorities say an illegal immigrant rideshare driver accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl in Maryland carries a dark history of sex abuse from New York. Abdoulaye Dia, a national of Guinea from West Africa, faces charges including first-degree rape, kidnapping, second-degree assault, and third-degree sex offense according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Montgomery County police responded on Tuesday to a hospital where an underage teen girl reported being raped by an Empower rideshare driver. The suspect allegedly took her to a parking lot in Silver Spring before the incident occurred there. Investigators tracked Dia down using data from the rideshare app itself, and he was arrested Wednesday.

Empower told Fox News Digital that every single driver undergoes background checks, sex offender registries, motor vehicle records, and Social Security traces. They also vet drivers against the same global watchlist used by Uber and Lyft through an identical screening provider. The company stated that a search conducted on July 16, 2026 did not reveal any prior incidents for this customer. When Montgomery County Police contacted them about the case, Empower asked law enforcement how they could assist and immediately provided all requested information.

Dia was previously arrested in New York City on June 10 for sexual abuse by forcible compulsion, forcible touching of intimate parts, injuring a child under seventeen, and sexual abuse without consent. A DHS spokesperson confirmed these prior charges to Fox News. He entered the United States illegally through Arizona in December 2023 and was released by the Biden administration according to the Department of Homeland Security.