Leighton Meester probably wishes her brother's accuser had used a few of the same lines she will offer up in a bit role she plays on tonight's airing of the new Fox TV show, "North Shore."

The teen actress is the real-life sister of U.S. Air Force Academy cadet Douglas Logan Meester, a Marco Island man who was accused of raping an 18-year-old female cadet in his dormitory room at the academy in October 2002.

Leighton plays a girl who falsely accuses someone of rape, then admits she lied after the man is arrested. The "North Shore" pilot episode airs for a second time at 8 p.m. today on Fox.

In real life, the woman who accused Leighton's brother never wavered from her contention that she didn't consent to sex that October night in 2002. Cadet Meester and his defense team, however, were able to convince the Air Force that he didn't rape the woman.

As his Air Force career fell apart amid the scandal, Logan Meester never changed his story that he was falsely accused by the female cadet. The rape charges were dropped after the Marco Island resident agreed to plead guilty to much less serious offenses at a court hearing at the academy June 8 in Colorado Springs.

Leighton Meester, 18, testified at her brother's hearing.

Wearing eyeglasses, a conservative dress and appearing a little more plain than one might suspect of a teenage Hollywood actress, Leighton told Air Force Judge Barbara Brand of her confidence in her brother's honesty.

Leighton noted how Logan had confided to her about all of the events of that October night. She told the judge that she believed her brother told the truth when he said he had sex with the female cadet with her consent, not against her will.

"I'm very worried about him," Leighton said on the witness stand, her voice breaking as tears began to flow down her face. "I just want him to come home."

Her brother faced a potential life sentence if he had been convicted of the rape charges. When the prosecution folded on the rape charges and offered him lesser offenses, he still faced a jail term of no more than six months.

Leighton Meester's testimony may have helped convince the judge that Logan Meester did not deserve any jail time. Brand sentenced him to a letter of reprimand, a $2,000 fine, no jail time and no punitive discharge.

As Leighton so painfully wished during her court testimony, Logan is scheduled to return to college in Florida next week, father Doug Meester said Wednesday.

Irony abounds in Leighton's TV role in the "North Shore" episode.

Leighton plays 15-year-old Veronica, who tries unsuccessfully to seduce Gabriel, a handsome lifeguard she meets at poolside in the Hawaii-based drama. When Veronica's mother goes out for the night, "Veronica grabs a bottle of courage" and rides a bicycle to the lifeguard's home, according to an episode synopsis posted at www.fox.com.

If the "bottle of courage" is alcohol, the irony continues in Leighton's real-life situation. Her brother and the female cadet have admitted they were drunk on tequila when the dorm room party unfolded in October 2002.

As the plot unfolds, the lifeguard hears a noise outside, grabs a golf club and goes to see what caused the racket. He finds Veronica with her crashed bicycle, invites her in, at which point she asks him for sex. A discussion of age-of-consent law ensues, and the lifeguard kicks Veronica out of his home. His rejection leads Leighton's character to accuse him falsely of rape. The lifeguard is arrested, but freed after Leighton's character admits she lied.

"Leighton has a big role on that show," father Doug Meester said. "I think (the role) is ironic and interesting."

The real-life father has always said that his son's accuser was lying, and has on several occasions challenged the woman to admit that she lied about his son.

His daughter the actress, who lives with Meester's former wife, Connie, in Beverly Hills, Calif., has a bright future in TV and films, the father said.

"I'm very proud of her," Doug Meester said. "She has been able to put everything in proper perspective."

Leighton has played bit roles in several TV shows, including "Crossing Jordan" (2004), "7th Heaven" (2004), "Family Affair" (2002), "Tarzan" (2003), "Once and Again" (2002), "Boston Public" (2001) and "Law & Order" (1999). She also starred in the movie "Hangman's Curse" (2003), an Internet search revealed.

Leighton lived in Collier County until she was 12. She attended Tommie Barfield Elementary School on Marco Island and the private Seacrest Country Day School in Naples. Her father and brother live on Marco Island.