Rideshare Driver Charged with Rape, Kidnapping of Teen
Abdoulaye Dia faces charges in Maryland after a prior arrest in New York.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Rideshare Driver Charged with Rape, Kidnapping of Teen
Photograph: NewsFinale (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Rideshare driver Abdoulaye Dia was arrested and charged with rape and kidnapping of a 17-year-old girl in Montgomery County, Maryland.
- Montgomery County Police are concerned Dia may have committed similar acts previously.
- The rideshare app, Empower, had been ordered to cease operations in Maryland due to failure to monitor driver records.
- Dia was charged in New York in June with offenses including sexual abuse of a minor.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 14 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 7 of the 21 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
60/100
Craft
60/100
Hype
60/100
21 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
None of the 14 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Abdoulaye Dia, a rideshare driver, has been arrested and charged with rape and kidnapping of a teenage girl in Montgomery County, Maryland. According to court documents, the 17-year-old victim ordered a rideshare through the Empower app to go to a friend's house. Investigators believe Dia purposefully drove past her residence, stopped the vehicle in a parking lot, and then raped the teen. He faces charges including first-degree rape and kidnapping.
Montgomery County Police spokesperson Shiera Goff expressed concern that Dia may have committed similar acts before. Court documents indicate that Empower was ordered to cease-and-desist operations in Maryland in July, with the state citing the company's failure to monitor driver records as a risk to public safety. Investigators also noted that Dia was charged in New York in June with criminal offenses, including the sexual abuse of a minor.
Empower stated that background checks on Dia, conducted on July 16, 2026, did not include any incidents. The company also said that every driver using their software undergoes background checks, sex offender checks, motor vehicle record checks, social security number traces, and global watchlist searches. Dia is being held without bond.
Disagreement on driver's immigration status
Several right-rated reports described Abdoulaye Dia as an "illegal immigrant" or "illegal alien." NewsFinale, an unrated outlet, also stated he was "living in the United States illegally." The centre-rated report from Fox5 DC did not mention Dia's immigration status.
What the coverage left out
None of the reports printed below mention the specific date of Abdoulaye Dia's arrest in Montgomery County, Maryland. The centre-rated report states the incident occurred "On Monday," but does not provide the date. The right-rated reports and unrated digests do not specify the date of the Maryland arrest.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 6 times, most recently on 20 Sept 2026, 01:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
3 rated outlets
- The centre-rated report from Fox5 DC led with the arrest and charges against rideshare driver Abdoulaye Dia for rape and kidnapping of a teenage girl in Montgomery County. It detailed the circumstances of the alleged assault, including the use of the Empower app and Dia's alleged deviation from the victim's route. The report included statements from Montgomery County Police spokesperson Shiera Goff expressing concern about prior incidents and quoted Empower's statement regarding background checks. The centre-rated report did not mention Dia's immigration status.
Right
11 rated outlets
- Eight right-rated reports led with the description of Abdoulaye Dia as an "illegal immigrant" or "illegal alien" charged with rape in Maryland, often linking it to a prior arrest in New York for sexual abuse. These reports frequently cited federal authorities or the Department of Homeland Security in relation to his immigration status. For example, the New York Post's digest stated: "Empower rideshare driver and illegal immigrant Abdoulaye Dia was arrested and charged with raping a teenage passenger in Maryland after a prior arrest in NYC." Similarly, Fox News' digest reported: "An illegal immigrant rideshare driver accused of sexually assaulting a teenage female passenger in Maryland has a history of sex abuse in New York, federal authorities said."
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Rideshare Driver Charged with Rape, Kidnapping of Teen?
- Of the 14 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 21% are rated centre, 79% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 21. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Rideshare Driver Charged with Rape, Kidnapping of Teen left or right?
- The story itself is neither. What can be counted is who has covered it, and 79% of the 14 rated outlets on it are rated right — so far this is a story carried mostly by the right. Coverage is still arriving and that can change, which is why the figure is dated rather than fixed.
- Is the coverage of Rideshare Driver Charged with Rape, Kidnapping of Teen biased?
- Rideshare Driver Charged with Rape, Kidnapping of Teen is one event reported by 21 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Rideshare Driver Charged with Rape, Kidnapping of Teen?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Rideshare Driver Charged with Rape, Kidnapping of Teen?
- 21 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What charges does Abdoulaye Dia face in Maryland?
- Abdoulaye Dia faces charges of first-degree rape and kidnapping in Montgomery County, Maryland. He is also charged with second-degree assault and a third-degree sex offense, according to some reports.
- What is known about Abdoulaye Dia's prior legal history?
- Abdoulaye Dia was charged in New York in June with criminal offenses including the sexual abuse of a minor. Some reports also describe him as having a history of sex abuse in New York.
- What action has been taken against the rideshare app Empower?
- Empower was ordered to cease-and-desist operations in Maryland due to its failure to monitor driver records. This ruling has since been appealed. Empower stated that background checks on Dia conducted on July 16, 2026, did not include any incidents.
Read it at the source
21 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
3- Illegal immigrant rideshare driver accused of rape had prior arrest (opens dailymail.com in a new tab)
dailymail.com — is dailymail.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- illegal Rideshare driver arrested in Montgomery County, MD for allegedly kidnapping & raping an underage girl (opens WUSA9 in a new tab)
- Rideshare driver charged with rape, kidnapping in Montgomery County (opens Fox5 DC in a new tab)
Right
11- Rideshare Driver Accused of Kidnapping and Assaulting Minor is Illegal from Guinea Released at Border by Biden Administration * The Gateway Pundit * by Margaret Flavin (opens The Gateway Pundit in a new tab)
The Gateway Pundit — is The Gateway Pundit biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Illegal Alien Released After NYC Sex-Abuse Arrest Charged With Raping Minor in Maryland (opens Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion in a new tab)
Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion — is Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Biden-released illegal alien charged with kidnapping, raping underage girl in rideshare horror (opens Bizpac Review in a new tab)
Bizpac Review — is Bizpac Review biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Illegal immigrant rideshare driver arrested in NYC sexual abuse case, charged with rape in Maryland (opens New York Post in a new tab)
New York Post — is New York Post biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Illegal immigrant rideshare driver charged with rape in Maryland had prior NYC sex abuse arrest - NEW YORK TIMES POST (opens nytimespost.com in a new tab)
nytimespost.com — is nytimespost.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Illegal immigrant rideshare driver charged with rape in Maryland had prior NYC sex abuse arrest (opens wfmd.com in a new tab)
- Illegal immigrant rideshare driver charged with rape in Maryland had prior NYC sex abuse arrest – Democratic Accent (opens democraticaccent.com in a new tab)
democraticaccent.com — is democraticaccent.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Illegal immigrant rideshare driver charged with rape in Maryland had prior NYC sex abuse arrest (opens WVII / Fox Bangor in a new tab)
WVII / Fox Bangor — is WVII / Fox Bangor biased? Our profile of this outlet
Show 3 more
- Illegal immigrant rideshare driver charged with rape in Maryland had prior NYC sex abuse arrest (opens Fox News in a new tab)
- Illegal immigrant accused in Maryland rape had previous sex abuse arrest in New York (opens WBFF in a new tab)
- Empower rideshare driver accused of raping teenage girl in Maryland parking lot (opens ABC 7 WJLA in a new tab)
ABC 7 WJLA — is ABC 7 WJLA biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
7- Rideshare Driver Accused of Kidnapping and Assaulting Minor is Illegal from Guinea Released at Border by Biden Administration - Politics, Policy, Political Views (opens Politics, Policy, Political News in a new tab)
- Stephen Miller’s ‘Storm the Polls’ Call Divides Viewers After He Ties Maryland Rideshare Assault Case to Democrat Policies (opens The Nerd Stash in a new tab)
The Nerd Stash — is The Nerd Stash biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Immigrant Rideshare Driver Faces Maryland Rape Charge, NYC Abuse Arrest (opens NewsFinale in a new tab)
NewsFinale — is NewsFinale biased? Our profile of this outlet
- African Illegal Arrested for Raping Underage Rideshare Passenger in Sanctuary Maryland - After Being Charged With Sexually Abusing Child in New York - Alex Jones Live (opens alexjoneslive.com in a new tab)
alexjoneslive.com — is alexjoneslive.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Silver Spring Rideshare Driver Charged With Rape, Kidnapping (opens Hoodline in a new tab)
- Maryland rideshare driver accused of rape and kidnap of teen passenger (opens Baltimore Fishbowl in a new tab)
Baltimore Fishbowl — is Baltimore Fishbowl biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Rideshare Driver Charged with Rape and Kidnapping; Detectives Seek Additional Victims – Mocofeed (opens mocofeed.com in a new tab)
mocofeed.com
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