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Image: Empower, via the Apple App Store. Used for editorial purposes.
Uber and Lyft dominate most conversations about rideshare sexual assault.
But they aren’t the only companies facing questions about whether passengers are adequately protected from dangerous drivers.
A recent case involving Empower, a smaller rideshare platform operating in several U.S. markets, shows why those concerns extend beyond the two industry giants.
Maryland police arrested 36-year-old Abdoulaye Dia on Sept. 16 after a 17-year-old passenger reported that an Empower driver took her to a parking lot in Silver Spring and raped her. Dia has been charged with first-degree rape, kidnapping, second-degree assault and a third-degree sex offense. Police say they believe there may be additional victims, according to reporting by LA Magazine.
What makes the case especially troubling is what allegedly happened months earlier.
Driver Had Been Arrested in New York Sexual Abuse Case
Dia was arrested in Brooklyn on June 10 after a 14-year-old girl accused him of sexually abusing her during a ride.
According to prosecutors, the girl’s mother arranged transportation home from a hair appointment and told Dia beforehand that her daughter was 14. During the ride, Dia allegedly asked the girl sexually explicit questions, said he wanted to have sex with her and touched her genitals after pulling the vehicle over.
The girl reportedly recorded portions of the interaction on her phone and told her mother what happened immediately after arriving home. Dia was charged with offenses including forcible touching, sexual abuse and acting in a manner injurious to a child under 17.
A judge released him under supervision after his arraignment.
Three months later, police in Maryland arrested him in the alleged assault of the 17-year-old Empower passenger.
Survivors may have legal options depending on the company involved and the circumstances of the assault.
Learn more about Uber sexual assault lawsuits and Lyft sexual assault lawsuits.
Empower Says July Background Check Found Nothing
The chronology raises the question of how Dia was still able to transport passengers.
Empower told Fox News that it conducted a criminal background check, sex-offender check, driving-record check, Social Security trace and global-watchlist search on Dia on July 16, more than a month after his New York arrest.
According to the company, those screenings “did not reveal any incidents.”
Empower’s own published policy says drivers using its platform must pass criminal and motor-vehicle background checks. Unlike Uber and Lyft, however, Empower describes itself as a booking platform rather than a transportation provider and says drivers are independent businesses using its technology to connect with riders.
From a passenger-safety standpoint, however, the central question is what information should a rideshare company know about someone before allowing that person to transport passengers?
Maryland Had Already Ordered Empower to Stop Operating
The Maryland case also comes against the backdrop of a regulatory dispute involving Empower.
In July, a Maryland Public Utility Law Judge issued a cease-and-desist order directing the company to stop operating in the state. State regulators argued that Empower was facilitating rides without submitting to required regulatory oversight and raised concerns about access to information involving drivers, insurance and safety. The judge wrote that Empower’s operations presented “severe and ongoing risks to public safety.” Empower appealed the order.
Los Angeles Magazine reported that regulators had specifically raised concerns about Empower’s monitoring of drivers’ criminal and driving records.
Those concerns now take on added significance given Dia’s earlier arrest.
Accused Driver Entered U.S. Illegally in 2023
The Department of Homeland Security also provided information about Dia’s immigration history.
DHS told Fox News that Dia is a citizen of Guinea who entered the United States illegally near Lukeville, Arizona, in December 2023.
That history is separate from the rideshare company’s screening responsibilities, but it forms part of the background surrounding the defendant and the sequence of events that ultimately led to the Maryland case.
Rideshare Safety Questions Extend Beyond Uber and Lyft
Uber and Lyft have faced years of litigation involving passengers who say they were sexually assaulted by drivers, along with allegations that the companies failed to do enough to screen drivers or respond to safety risks.
The Empower case illustrates that these issues are not confined to those companies.
As additional rideshare and app-based transportation services enter the market, passengers may reasonably assume that basic safety protections, including meaningful background screening and ongoing monitoring, follow them from one platform to another.
The allegations involving Dia underscore why that assumption deserves scrutiny.
A background check is only as effective as the information it captures, and screening at the time a driver signs up may not be enough if companies fail to identify serious criminal allegations that arise later.
Montgomery County, MD police are asking anyone who believes they may have had a similar encounter with Dia to contact the department’s Special Victims Investigations Division at 240-773-5050.
