MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. - A rideshare driver is accused of raping and kidnapping a teenage girl in Montgomery County.
What we know:
According to court documents, Montgomery County police said the victim is a 17-year-old girl. On Monday, she was at a friend’s house in Silver Spring and ordered a rideshare driver through the Empower app on her phone, the documents said.
Investigators believe the rideshare driver, 36-year-old Abdoulaye Dia, of Lanham, "appeared to purposefully drive past the direction to her residence," "stopped the vehicle in a parking lot," and raped the teen.
Dia now faces charges including first-degree rape and kidnapping.
"Based on the circumstances, with how everything unfolded, [investigators] are concerned that he may have done this before or even attempted to do this before," said Montgomery County Police spokesperson Shiera Goff.
Dig deeper:
According to court documents, Empower was ordered to cease-and-desist operations in Maryland this past July. That ruling has since been appealed and is pending.
Part of the reason for the cease-and-desist is that the state alleges "the failure of Empower to monitor the criminal and driving records of Empower’s drivers creates a serious risk to public safety." In this most recent case, Montgomery County investigators said that Dia was charged in New York this past June with criminal offenses including the sexual abuse of a minor.
FOX 5 reached out to Empower for comment. In a statement, officials said in part:
- That officials "asked law enforcement what Empower could do to assist their investigation and immediately provided all information requested."
- That "every driver using our software is subject to a background check, sex offender check, motor vehicle record check, social security number trace, and global watchlist search."
- Also, that the various checks on Dia "were conducted on July 16, 2026, and did not include any incidents."
Dia is being held without bond. The public defender’s office declined comment on his behalf.
The Source: Information in this report is from Montgomery County Police and court records.