“Dances With Wolves” actor Nathan Chasing Horse to be sentenced March 18

Body

Nathan Chasing Horse, the former actor known for “Dances With Wolves,” will be sentenced on March 18 after a Nevada judge delayed the hearing by a week, the Associated Press reported. The sentencing was originally set to take place Wednesday, but Judge Jessica Peterson agreed to move the proceeding to March 18.

The change comes about a month after a Nevada jury convicted Chasing Horse on 13 of 21 charges he faced. The charges included allegations involving a victim who was 14 when the abuse began, and prosecutors said the conduct spanned years. The jury acquitted him of some sexual-assault charges.

Chasing Horse faces a minimum prison term of 25 years, AP reported. Following the trial, his attorney Craig Mueller filed a motion for a new trial, arguing a witness was not qualified to address grooming and that the statute of limitations had expired; Peterson denied that motion.

The conviction concluded a yearslong prosecution effort that began after Chasing Horse was arrested and indicted in 2023. AP said the initial arrest drew attention in Indian Country and prompted law enforcement in other places, including Canada, to pursue related charges.

Nevada prosecutors described the case as a pattern of exploitation that used Chasing Horse’s standing in the community. Deputy District Attorney Bianca Pucci told the jury that, for nearly 20 years, Chasing Horse “spun a web of abuse” that ensnared multiple women.

Jurors heard testimony from three women who said Chasing Horse sexually assaulted them, and the jury returned guilty verdicts on charges connected to all three. AP reported that Chasing Horse denied the allegations and that Mueller questioned the credibility of the main accuser, describing her as a “scorned woman.”

AP also reported that the case involved allegations that tied the abuse to religious or spiritual claims made by Chasing Horse. The main accuser, AP said, 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, and prosecutors said he then sexually assaulted her and told her that if she told anyone, her mother would die.

After appearing in the film “Dances With Wolves,” Chasing Horse, AP reported, traveled across Indian Country to attend powwows and perform healing ceremonies. AP said multiple victims described how they participated in his ceremonies or sought him for medical help.

Beyond the U.S. case, prosecutors in British Columbia said additional legal proceedings are pending in Canada. The British Columbia Prosecution Service said Chasing Horse was charged with sexual assault in February 2023, with the alleged offense dating to September 2018 near Keremeos, a village about four hours east of Vancouver, and that the case paused in November 2023 due to the U.S. charges before resuming afterward.

Damienne Darby, communications counsel for the British Columbia Prosecution Service, told AP that after all of Chasing Horse’s U.S. appeals are exhausted, British Columbia prosecutors will assess next steps. AP also reported that the Tsuut’ina Nation Police Service said a warrant remains outstanding against Chasing Horse and that it is in contact with Alberta Crown Prosecutors regarding that warrant.