A rideshare driver who authorities say entered the United States illegally has been arrested in Maryland on charges of raping a teenage girl. Police are warning that there may be additional victims after learning he had previously faced similar allegations in New York.

Abdoulaye Dia, 36, was taken into custody Wednesday after a teenage girl reported that he raped her in a parking lot the previous day, according to the Montgomery County Department of Police. Dia used the Empower rideshare platform.

The girl, who is under 18, told officers at a local hospital that the driver took her to a parking lot in Silver Spring, Maryland, just outside Washington, DC, where he allegedly assaulted her.

Investigators used information from the rideshare app to identify Dia. Officers later arrested him nearby in Lanham.

“Based on the circumstances of the investigation, detectives are concerned there may be other victims,” the Montgomery County Police Department said.

Dia faces charges of first-degree rape, kidnapping, second-degree assault and third-degree sex offense.

The Department of Homeland Security later told Fox News that Dia is a citizen of Guinea and had been arrested in New York in June on similar charges.

DHS said Dia entered the United States illegally through Arizona in December 2023.

In the New York case, Dia was charged with sexual abuse by forcible compulsion, forcible touching of another person’s sexual or intimate parts, injuring a child under 17 and sexual abuse without consent.

Court records in that case have not been made public because of the nature of the allegations. A spokesperson for the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office told local ABC affiliate WJLA that prosecutors sought to have Dia held on bond, but a judge instead ordered his release under supervision.

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Empower said in a statement to the Daily Mail that it does not employ or contract with drivers.

“Drivers using our software are our customers. They set their own rates and get 100% of their fares and pay Empower for access to our software,” the company said.

Empower said it conducted a background check, sex-offender check, driving-record review, Social Security trace and global watchlist search on Dia on July 16. The company said it used the same screening provider as Uber and Lyft and that no incidents were found.

“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,” the company said.

Empower operates as an alternative to Uber and Lyft, allowing drivers to set their own fares and keep 100% of the money paid by riders.

The platform is available in Atlanta, Baltimore, Charlotte Metro, Dallas-Fort Worth, the DC Metro area, Houston, New York City, Tampa, Orlando and Greensboro, North Carolina.

Empower’s website says the service does not provide rides to minors. Uber permits teens ages 13 to 17 to travel without a guardian in select cities with permission, while Lyft offers unaccompanied minors rides through its Lyft Teen program.

The circumstances that led to the alleged assault in Maryland have not been shared. Dia appeared in court on Thursday and was ordered to remain behind bars without bail, according to records. 

It does not appear that he has retained an attorney or entered a plea in the charges against him. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not indicated whether it will issue a detainer against Dia or deport him. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to ICE, DHS and the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office for comment and more information. 

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor feels he is “living in limbo” while police continue investigating his links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, according to friends.

The former Duke of York has been staying at Marsh Farm on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk since being removed from Royal Lodge in Windsor and arrested on February 19.

Andrew was arrested on the morning of his 66th birthday over allegations that he leaked sensitive information to Epstein while serving as a British trade envoy between 2001 and 2011.

Friends say he is “making the most” of his new life in Norfolk and feels some relief at having left the Windsor “bubble”.

Earlier this month, a Republican congressman accused Andrew of committing sex crimes in the United States.

Thomas Massie made the allegation during a speech in the House of Representatives, saying: “We want the perpetrators of these crimes to be investigated and prosecuted.”

Andrew has denied committing any sexual offences.

Mr Massie was speaking during an attempt to compel the US government to publish unreleased material from the Epstein files. Some portions of the documents have been released under President Donald Trump’s administration, but many passages remain heavily redacted.

A source close to the former prince told The Telegraph: “While Andrew remains under investigation after being arrested by Thames Valley Police seven months ago, he has effectively been living in limbo.”

Although he is not subject to formal restrictions, the source said Andrew “cannot live his normal life” and is unable to “stray far beyond his home”.

The source added: “In the meantime, Thames Valley Police seems to be no nearer being able to prove an allegation of misconduct in a public office, for which Andrew was detained back in February.”

The US Department of Justice is reportedly delaying the investigation into Andrew by refusing to release key unredacted documents from the Epstein files.

Andrew has reportedly had no contact with Thames Valley Police since his initial arrest. He is also said not to have spoken to his brother, King Charles, for some time, although he remains in contact with his siblings Princess Anne and Prince Edward.

Thames Valley Police said in May that it was expanding the investigation to include allegations of sex trafficking.

Andrew is alleged to have shared information such as reports of official visits to Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore, along with a confidential briefing on investment opportunities linked to the reconstruction of Afghanistan’s Helmand province.

The investigation is understood to be receiving resources comparable to those assigned to a major crime inquiry, with specialist sexual offence investigators included in the team.

However, the case took an unexpected turn in August when an unnamed woman who reportedly alleged that she spent a night with Andrew in Windsor after Epstein flew her to Britain for sex was said to have reconsidered giving evidence against him.

The Mail on Sunday reported in May that the woman did not want to “risk losing her privacy” by filing a formal complaint with detectives investigating the trafficking allegations.

But her American lawyer, Bradley Edwards, said this month his client had gone from a ‘hard no’ to a ‘maybe’ in assisting the criminal case.

The woman says she was in her 20s when, at Epstein’s request, she spent a night with Andrew at Royal Lodge in Windsor in 2010. It is alleged she was also given a tour of Buckingham Palace and tea afterwards.

Mr Edwards said he had spoken to British police about interviewing his client in the US, but nothing had been agreed.

He added: ‘She has gone from a hard no to a maybe. Her main concern is to protect her child and she doesn’t want her kid being harassed.

‘If those issues can be addressed it could happen. She is thinking about it. I think she should testify because what happened was wrong. But I’m not going to push her. It has to be her choice.’

Mr Edwards, who has represented more than 200 alleged Epstein victims, previously sued Andrew on behalf of the late Ms Giuffre, who alleged she had sex at 17 with the former duke of York in London, New York and on Epstein’s Caribbean island.

Andrew settled for a reported £12million before the case went to trial but did not admit liability.

He has always denied any allegations of wrongdoing.