DeKALB – Northern Illinois University Police Chief Donald Grady and a lieutenant were placed on paid administrative leave Saturday over misplaced evidence in a rape case against one of their former officers.

Grady and Lt. Kartik Ramakrishnan both spoke with two NIU students days after a friend of the students accused an NIU police officer of raping her. The two students provided statements indicating officer Andrew Rifkin had an ongoing consensual sexual relationship with the victim, but those statements did not make it to prosecutors until a defense attorney brought them to light.

Presiding Judge Robbin Stuckert ruled NIU police intentionally withheld important evidence and decided Friday that, if Rifkin’s case went before a jury, the jurors would hear details about the officers’ actions. If convicted, Rifkin, 24, of Northbrook, faces up to 15 years in prison; probation is not an option.