The Whitman County Prosecutor’s Office dropped charges against a WSU student charged with rape in connection with an incident from 2016.

Gebriel Amare, 23, allegedly raped a freshman student in his dorm room on April 15, 2016, according to the Moscow-Pullman Daily News. He was charged with second-degree rape, a felony in Washington.

Whitman County Prosecutor Dan LeBeau decided to drop the charges against Amare on March 23.  The decision came after a critical witness left the country, making them unable to testify in the case, LeBeau said.

LeBeau dropped the charges without prejudice, meaning the case can still go to trial in the future. The Prosecutor’s Office has stayed in contact with the victim of the alleged rape to keep them informed of proceedings, he said.

The victim did not report the rape until November of last year due to emotional distress. She was undergoing counseling to help remember what happened that night, as she was heavily intoxicated and unable to give consent, the Daily News reported. Amare allegedly provided the victim and her friends with alcohol before she ended up in his dorm room.

Reporting by Ian Smay

This story has been updated from the original version