‘Dances With Wolves’ actor to be sentenced in Las Vegas for sexually assaulting Indigenous girls
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nathan Chasing Horse was expected to be sentenced Wednesday morning for sexually assaulting Indigenous women and girls, drawing to a close a case that sent shock waves through Indian Country.
The sentencing of the “Dances With Wolves” actor comes about a month after a Nevada jury convicted him on 13 of the 21 charges he faced. Most related to his conduct with a victim who was 14 when he began assaulting her. Chasing Horse was acquitted of some sexual assault charges.
He denied the allegations and his attorney Craig Mueller questioned the main accuser’s credibility, calling her a “scorned woman.”
He faces a minimum of 25 years in prison.
Following the trial, Mueller filed a motion for a new trial, arguing a witness was not qualified to talk about grooming and that the statute of limitations had expired. That motion was denied.
The sentencing wraps a yearslong effort to prosecute the former actor after he was first arrested and indicted in 2023. That initial arrest reverberated around Indian Country, with law enforcement in other states and Canada following up with more criminal charges.
Charges pending in Canada
The British Columbia Prosecution Service said Chasing Horse was charged with sexual assault in February 2023, though the date of the alleged offense took place in September 2018 near Keremeos, a village about four hours east of Vancouver. In November 2023, the case paused due to Chasing Horse’s charges in the United States, but resumed the following year.
After all of Chasing Horse’s appeals have been exhausted, British Columbia prosecutors will assess next steps, Damienne Darby, communications counsel for the British Columbia Prosecution Service, said in an email Tuesday.
The Tsuut’ina Nation Police Service in Alberta said in a statement following Chasing Horse’s conviction that a warrant remains outstanding against him and said that it is in contact with the Alberta Crown Prosecutors Office regarding the warrant.
‘Web of abuse’
Nevada prosecutors said Chasing Horse used his reputation as a Lakota medicine man to prey on Indigenous women and girls.
Deputy District Attorney Bianca Pucci told the jury that for almost 20 years, Chasing Horse “spun a web of abuse” that ensnared many women.
Jurors heard from three women who said Chasing Horse sexually assaulted them. The jury returned guilty verdicts on some charges related to all three.
Following his appearance as Smiles a Lot in Kevin Costner’s Oscar-winning film “Dances With Wolves,” Chasing Horse, born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, traveled across Indian Country to attend powwows and perform healing ceremonies.
Multiple victims described how they participated in his ceremonies or went to Chasing Horse for medical help.
The main accuser was 14 in 2012 when Chasing Horse allegedly told her the spirits wanted her to give up her virginity to save her mother, who was diagnosed with cancer. He then sexually assaulted her and told her that if she told anyone, her mother would die, according to Pucci. The sexual assaults continued for years, Pucci said.