Maj. William Cruz also denied claims made by the accuser, Jennifer Dyer, that Army investigators doubted her allegations and put her in a hotel room without access to a telephone for two days.

"We never once told her that she couldn't use her cell phone, and she was never to my knowledge confined to a room," Cruz testified.

First Lt. Mike Hall is accused of raping Dyer, 26, a former first lieutenant in the New Jersey National Guard, last August at Camp Shelby, near Hattiesburg, Miss.

Hall, 35, says the sex was consensual.

Cruz, who was called by the defense after the prosecution rested Tuesday, said he counseled Hall after the incident and found him to be "truthful to a fault." When asked what other soldiers thought of Dyer, he responded: "The consensus is that she is untruthful."

Dyer has testified that Hall tried to kiss and touch her in the barracks hallway after an evening at an officers' club, then forced her to have sex. She said she was physically overpowered and too frightened to call for help.

Dyer said she went public with her story, including an account on CBS' "60 Minutes," after Army investigators allegedly kept her in a hotel for two days without a phone.

Army investigator Eric Barreras told the military judge Tuesday that he advised Dyer not to speak openly about specific details while the case was under investigation, but he said he did not order her to remain silent.

Hall's attorney, Victor Kelley, has argued that Dyer made up the rape story to get out of the Army and avoid an upcoming assignment to Iraq.

Earlier Tuesday, soldiers who recently returned from Iraq to testify in the trial said Dyer initially refused to report the alleged rape to police for fear of repercussions from the Army.

"She outright refused. She thought nobody would believe her and everybody would blame her for it," said Sgt. 1st Class Chandra Collins.

At Hall's choice, the trial is being heard by Col. Richard Gordon without a jury.

There is no minimum sentence on the rape charge.

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