Posted on 04/27/2005 7:54:04 AM PDT by Former Military Chick
FORT RUCKER, Ala. — An Army chaplain testified Tuesday that a former National Guard soldier from New Jersey who accused a fellow officer of raping her was viewed as "untruthful" by military colleagues.
Maj. William Cruz also said he counseled the soldier charged with rape, 1st Lt. Mike Hall, and found him trustworthy.
"He was truthful to a fault," said Cruz.
The testimony by Cruz came in the court-martial of Hall, 35, of Nashville, Tenn.
Former 1st Lt. Jennifer Dyer, 26, has alleged that Hall raped her twice in her barracks room after an evening at the officers club at Camp Shelby in Missis-sippi. Hall says the sex was consensual.
Cruz, chaplain for the Army unit in which Dyer and Hall were serving at the time, was asked what other soldiers thought of Dyer.
"The consensus is that she is untruthful," he said.
Conflicting testimony
Cruz was among defense witnesses called after the prosecution rested its case Tuesday. The defense attempted to bring out testimony showing Dyer had tried to avoid deployment to Iraq and, as a last resort, said she had been raped.
Dyer has said she went public with her story after Army investigators doubted her claim and put her in a hotel without access to a telephone for two days.
But Cruz said he brought Dyer from the hospital after she was treated and found her a safe hotel room.
"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.
Army investigator Eric Barreras told the military judge 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, wearing dress green, has shown no emotion during two days of testimony that included Dyer's account of what she described as forcible sex.
Dyer said that after an evening at the officers' club, Hall tried to kiss and touch her in the barracks hallway, then forced her to have sex.
She said she was physically overpowered and too frightened to call for help.
I think that he may have torn a slightly sizable hole in her credibiliity.
Did it not use to be that a victim would go to the chaplain? If it were me (it is so easy to Monday night quarterbacking) I would have, so having a chaplain testify on behalf of the prosecution must make an impact on the credibility of the accused??
I PINGed names to those who have replied on the prior Jennifer Dyer thread and to those who have followed the Hasan Akbar case and the Hunter Army Air Field Hoax with a few from the thread of the molester who committed suicide.
I also added a few names of those who I have enjoyed reading in years past, let me know if you wish not to be PINGED to this story/case in the future. I so enjoy a good, fair and polite discussion on current events, so thanks in advance.
Apr. 23, 2005 Town torn over molester's suicide (plus my vanity as the victim of a violent crime)
4/26/2005 UPDATE: Prosecution rests in penalty phase in Akbar court-martial - Hasan Akbar)
In the event you wanted to follow the Dyer case, I gathered the names from a thread I posted last year.
thanks for the ping
IF it turns out she was trying to avoid deployment and using a situation of bad judgment as her excuse, she has done major harm to those with legitimate cases and the overall credibility of females in the military.
Thanks for the ping.
I really wonder what happened in this case.
The article doesn't mention it, but if the complaining witness testified as to what she claims she told the Chaplian, confidentiality is waived and the Chaplain may testify as to what really happened.
Ping bump.
"She said she was physically overpowered and too frightened to call for help."
What is she doing wearing a uniform ??
He probably got more orgs than she did.
Precisely my question.
Shame the misfits cannot be weeded out before they get a uniform.
If it turns out as you've suggested, she has not only done harm to those who make legitimate accusations but has marked herself as an easy target for future rapists. What jury would believe her?
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I don't think she said that he threatened her, did she? If she thought he was following her, why didn't she go somewhere where there were other people?
If she is lying, I hope she gets prosecuted to the fullest extent. She will have hurt all the legitimate cases of rape in and outside of the military. Just as bad, she will have damaged an innocent man's career and character.
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I don't think she said that he threatened her, did she? If she thought he was following her, why didn't she go somewhere where there were other people?
If she is lying, I hope she gets prosecuted to the fullest extent. She will have hurt all the legitimate cases of rape in and outside of the military. Just as bad, she will have damaged an innocent man's career and character.
Thanks for the ping.
I suppose Hall dragged her, kicking and screaming, to her barracks from the O.C.? Her story reeks of B.S. Thanks for the ping.
Somebody tell me if soldiers don't get some combat defense training and martial arts experience in the months before being shipped out.
She claims she was "afraid" of the accused. I wonder why she didn't deliver a well-placed kick you know where.
This is one of the reasons I don't believe her story.
Leni
Thanks for the pings. I have been out of town, and have just read your ping of the 24th, and I feel bad about the fear you are living with and the reason for it. Praying you will receive some help and solutions to deal with it. I agree the chaplain raised questions about the credibility of Jennifer Dyer. If she has lied about Lt. Hall, she should be punished for attempting to ruin his life. If he's guilty, he should be punished. Anxious to find out the outcome of this!
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