A rideshare driver living in the United States illegally and accused of sexually assaulting a teenage passenger in Maryland has a prior history of alleged sex offenses in New York, according to federal authorities.
Abdoulaye Dia, of Lanham, Maryland, faces charges of first-degree rape, kidnapping, second-degree assault and a third-degree sex offense, the Department of Homeland Security said.
Montgomery County police were called to a hospital Tuesday after an underage girl reported that she had been raped. The teen told investigators that her alleged attacker was an Empower rideshare driver.
Abdoulaye Dia, a Guinean national in the country illegally, was charged with rape after authorities said he allegedly sexually assaulted an underage girl riding in his vehicle. He also has prior arrests tied to alleged sex crimes in New York City. (Getty Images; Department of Homeland Security)
Dia, a citizen of Guinea, allegedly drove the girl to a parking lot in Silver Spring, where the assault was reported to have taken place.
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Investigators identified Dia using information from the rideshare app, and he was arrested Wednesday.
Dia was previously arrested in New York City on June 10 on allegations including sexual abuse by forcible compulsion, forcible touching of another person’s sexual or intimate parts, injuring a child younger than 17, and sexual abuse without consent, a DHS spokesperson told Fox News.
DHS said Dia entered the United States illegally through Arizona in December 2023 and was later released by the Biden administration.
News Media has contacted Empower for comment.