'Dances with Wolves' actor Nathan Chasing Horse convicted on sexual abuse charges

LAS VEGAS (CN) — Facing multiple accusations of sexual abuse against Indigenous women and girls, Nathan Chasing Horse stood silently Friday as he heard the guilty verdicts read against him.

Chasing Horse, who appeared in the movie “Dances with Wolves,” faced charges including sexual assault, sexual assault of a minor under 16, possession of visual presentation depicting sexual conduct of person under 16 years of age and open or gross lewdness.

Jurors convicted him on 13 charges, including sexual assault of a minor, visual presentation of sexual conduct and other accusations. They acquitted him on a handful of charges.

Prosecutors have said that Chasing Horse claimed to be a Lakota medicine man. He traveled North America performing healing ceremonies, with his position giving him access to vulnerable women and girls.

Eighth District Judge Jessica Peterson ordered Chasing Horse into the custody of the Nevada Department of Corrections moments after hearing the verdicts. She also ordered a presentence investigation. Chasing Horse’s sentencing is set for March 11. He faces 25 years to life in prison.

“I’m going to ask for a new trial,” said defense attorney Craig Mueller, who represents Chasing Horse.

“You have that right,” the judge replied.

The verdicts are the latest step in a legal saga that’s lasted three years, at one point reaching the state’s highest court.

Authorities raided the actor’s home in January 2023 on accusations he’d sexually assaulted young girls for more than two decades. Officers arrested him near the North Las Vegas home he supposedly shared with his five wives.

The arrest stemmed from a police tip received in October 2022. A search warrant said he was the cult leader of a group called The Circle.

Authorities in that warrant accused Chasing Horse of using spiritual traditions and belief systems to sexually assault young girls. His followers thought he could speak with higher beings and called him a medicine man.

In December 2023, a three-judge panel of the Nevada Supreme Court rebuffed his attempt to have the indictment dismissed.

Attorneys for Chasing Horse argued at the time that the sex was consensual. One public defender claimed information given to the grand jury, like the definition of “grooming,” was improper.

Some nine months later, the full high court granted Chasing Horse’s request and tossed the indictment against him. It cited the public defender’s “grooming” definition argument and a failure of prosecutors to inform grand jurors about inconsistent statements made by a victim.

However, the indictment’s dismissal didn’t spell an end to the case. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said at the time that, while disappointed, he would seek another indictment.

“My office is committed to resurrecting the charges in this case, and we will not rest until we obtain justice on behalf of the victims in this matter,” Wolfson said in a statement.

A month later, prosecutors secured a second indictment against Chasing Horse. It included new accusations of producing and possessing child sexual abuse materials.

Chasing Horse is known for playing the character “Smiles A Lot” in the 1990 movie “Dances with Wolves.” He was born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, home to the Sicangu Sioux, which is one of the seven tribes of the Lakota nation.

“Today’s verdict sends a clear message that exploitation and abuse will not be tolerated, regardless of the defendant’s public persona or claims of spiritual authority,” Wolfson said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with those who endured harm and shared their experiences so that these crimes could be brought to justice.

Chasing Horse’s attorney couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.