A Nevada jury on Friday convicted Dances With Wolves actor Nathan Chasing Horse of sexually assaulting Indigenous women and girls.
Jurors in Las Vegas found Chasing Horse guilty of 13 of the 21 charges he faced, The Associated Press (AP) reported. Chasing Horse, 49, faces a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 11.
He also faces sex crime charges in other US states and in Canada. Prosecutors in British Columbia said Friday that once Chasing Horse is sentenced and any US appeals are completed, they will assess next steps in their case.
The verdict capped a yearslong prosecution that began after Chasing Horse was arrested and indicted in 2023. Prosecutors said he used his reputation as a Lakota medicine man to exploit and abuse Indigenous women and girls.
As the verdict was read, Chasing Horse stood quietly in the courtroom, AP reported. Victims and supporters cried and embraced in the hallway, many wearing yellow ribbons. The main victim declined to comment on the verdict.
William Rowles, the Clark County chief deputy district attorney, thanked the women who testified against Chasing Horse.
“I just hope that the people who came forward over the years and made complaints against Nathan Chasing Horse can find some peace in this,” Rowles said.
Defense attorney Craig Mueller said he plans to file a motion for a new trial and told The Associated Press that he was confused and disappointed by the jury’s decision. He said he had some “meaningful doubts about the sincerity of the accusations.”
During the 11-day trial, jurors heard testimony from three women who said Chasing Horse sexually assaulted them, some when they were underage. The jury returned guilty verdicts on charges involving all three women.
Deputy District Attorney Bianca Pucci said in her closing argument that for nearly two decades Chasing Horse “spun a web of abuse” that ensnared multiple victims.
Mueller argued there was no physical or eyewitness evidence and challenged the credibility of the main accuser, calling her a “scorned woman.” Prosecutors countered that sexual assault cases rarely involve eyewitnesses and typically occur in private.
According to prosecutors, the main accuser was 14 in 2012 when Chasing Horse allegedly told her that spirits demanded she give up her virginity to save her mother, who had been diagnosed with cancer. Prosecutors said he assaulted her and warned that her mother would die if she reported the abuse, which they said continued for years.
“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,” Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said in a statement after attending the verdict in Las Vegas.
Chasing Horse was born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. He is widely known for portraying Smiles a Lot in Kevin Costner’s Oscar-winning 1990 film Dances With Wolves.