DeKALB – Rape charges have been reinstated against the former Northern Illinois University police officer whose case originally was dropped after a judge ruled NIU police intentionally mishandled evidence.

A DeKalb County grand jury indicted Andrew Rifkin, 25, of Northbrook, on Friday on a single count of a criminal sexual assault. He is accused of forcing a sex act on an NIU student with whom he had an ongoing relationship. The incident allegedly happened in October 2011 while he was off-duty and off-campus; he was fired the same day the woman reported her allegations.

NIU officials cited Rifkin’s case as the main reason they fired NIU police Chief Donald Grady on Tuesday. Grady, who has questioned if race played a role in his dismissal, denied any knowledge that Lt. Kartik Ramakrishnan placed two witness statements favorable to Rifkin in Rifkin’s personnel file rather than turning them over to prosecutors.