A Maryland rideshare driver charged with raping a teen had a prior New York sex-abuse arrest and entered illegally, federal officials said.

The New York Post reported that Montgomery County Police responded to a hospital Tuesday after an underage passenger reported a rape. Investigators later identified Abdoulaye Dia through information from the Empower rideshare app.

The Department of Homeland Security said Dia entered the United States illegally through Arizona in December 2023. DHS also said the Biden administration released him after that entry.

Police arrested Dia on Wednesday. He faces charges of first-degree rape, kidnapping, second-degree assault and third-degree sex offense.

The allegations remain accusations, and the charges do not establish guilt. The New York Post account did not include charging papers, court records or the current status of the Maryland case.

Police used the rideshare app to identify Dia

The teenage passenger identified Dia as her Empower driver, the New York Post reported. She said he took her to a parking lot in Silver Spring, Maryland, where the alleged assault occurred.

Investigators obtained information from the rideshare app and identified Dia, a resident of Lanham, Maryland. The exact parking lot, hospital and passenger’s age were not disclosed.

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The Maryland timeline remains incomplete. Police received the hospital report Tuesday and arrested Dia Wednesday, but no calendar dates or times were provided.

Empower says five screening checks found no incidents

In the New York Post’s account, Empower described checks performed on July 16, 2026:

“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,”

Empower also said Montgomery County Police contacted the company about the incident. The company said it asked how it could help and immediately supplied all information police requested.

The company’s statement leaves a major screening question unresolved. DHS identified a June 10 New York arrest, but the year of that arrest was not provided, so the sequence cannot be established from the disclosed dates.

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Without that missing year, the public cannot know whether the New York arrest existed when Empower ran its July 2026 checks. The company did not explain what records each search covered.

DHS account puts the border release before later arrests

DHS said Dia is a citizen of Guinea who entered illegally through Arizona in December 2023. The department said the Biden administration then released him into the United States.

A DHS spokesperson also told Fox News that Dia was arrested in New York City on June 10. The listed accusations included sexual abuse by forcible compulsion, forcible touching, injuring a child under 17 and sexual abuse without consent.

The status and outcome of that New York case were not provided. DHS also did not identify its spokesperson or disclose the basis for its account of Dia’s entry and release.

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The immigration timeline now demands a direct accounting. DHS says Dia entered illegally and was released, while authorities later arrested him in two cities on serious sexual-abuse allegations.

That does not decide either criminal case. It does raise fair questions about the release decision, the handling of the New York arrest and the information available to rideshare companies.

A lawful immigration system and honest screening are basic duties, not optional paperwork. When serious warning signs appear, government and private companies owe the public clear answers.