‘Dances With Wolves’ actor to be sentenced in Las Vegas for sexually assaulting Indigenous girls
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nathan Chasing Horse will be convicted next Wednesday of sexually assaulting Native women and girls, ending a case that sent shockwaves across Indian Country.
Sentencing was scheduled for Wednesday, but Judge Jessica Peterson agreed to postpone the hearing until March 18.
The “Dances with Wolves” actor’s sentencing came nearly a month after a Nevada jury convicted him on 13 of the 21 charges he faced. Much of it related to his behavior with a victim who was 14 when he started attacking her. Chasing Horse was acquitted of some sexual assault charges.
He faces at least 25 years in prison.
After the hearing, Chasing Horse’s attorney, Craig Mueller, filed a motion for a new trial, arguing that a witness was not competent to speak about the grooming and that the statute of limitations had expired. This motion was rejected.
The verdict completes a years-long prosecution effort against the former actor after he was first arrested and indicted in 2023. This initial arrest reverberated throughout Indian Country, with law enforcement in other states and Canada filing more criminal charges.
Pending charges in Canada
The British Columbia Prosecution Service said Chasing Horse was charged with sexual assault in February 2023, but the alleged offense was dated in September 2018 near Keremeos, a village about four hours east of Vancouver. In November 2023, the trial was paused due to Chasing Horse’s charges in the United States, but resumed the following year.
Damienne Darby, communications counsel for the British Columbia Prosecution Service, said in an email Tuesday that British Columbia prosecutors will consider next steps after all of Chasing Horse’s appeals are exhausted.
The Tsuut’ina National Police Service in Alberta said in a statement following Chasing Horse’s conviction that an arrest warrant remained outstanding against him and was in contact with the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service regarding the warrant.
‘Network of exploitation’
Nevada prosecutors said Chasing Horse used his fame as a Lakota healer to prey on native women and girls.
Deputy District Attorney Bianca Pucci told the jury that Chasing Horse “weaved a web of abuse” that ensnared many women for almost 20 years.
Jurors heard from three women who said Chasing Horse sexually assaulted them. The jury returned guilty verdicts on some charges against the three.
Following his role 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 throughout Indian Country to attend meetings and perform healing ceremonies.
Many described how they participated in sacrificial ceremonies or went to Chasing Horse for medical attention.
The main accuser was 14 years old in 2012 when Chasing Horse allegedly told her she wanted him to give up his virginity to save his mother, who was diagnosed with cancer. He then sexually assaulted Pucci and told her that her mother would die if she told anyone. Pucci said the sexual assaults continued for years.
She denied the allegations, and her lawyer questioned the credibility of the main accuser, calling her a “scorned woman.”
