‘Dances with Wolves’ actor accused of sexual misconduct in Nevada

Nathan Chasing Horse was charged with eight felonies and two misdemeanors in Nevada. The charges include sex trafficking, sexual assault and child abuse.

NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nevada. Former Dances With Wolves actor accused of sexually harassing Indigenous girls and women for two decades in multiple states has been charged with crimes prosecutors say took place in the Las Vegas area starting in 2012 .

Nathan Chasing Horse, 46, was formally charged Monday morning during a brief appearance in a North Las Vegas courtroom full of his friends and family who were hoping to see him released on bail. But the judge postponed the hearing on his custody status until Wednesday to allow Chasing Horse to find a new lawyer.

Nevada state law requires prosecutors to provide compelling evidence that the defendant must remain in custody. Clark County Deputy District Attorney Jessica Walsh said last week she was awaiting testimony from Las Vegas police detectives, FBI special agents and victims.

Meanwhile, Chasing Horse is being held without bail in a downtown Las Vegas jail. He has been in custody since his January 31 arrest near the north Las Vegas home he shares with his five wives.

Chasing Horse is charged with eight felonies, including sex trafficking, sexual abuse of a child under 16, and child abuse, according to the criminal complaint. Prosecutors also filed an additional felony charge on Monday over what detectives said videos showing sexual assaults on a minor were stored on the phone.

On Monday, sitting across from the Chasing Horse family, some of the victims and their supporters held signs in the courtroom reading “NO MORE STOLE SISTERS” and “WOMEN NOT PRISONED.”

Rulon Pete, executive director of the Indian Center in Las Vegas, said after the hearing that the victims were willing to “help get justice.”

“Unfortunately, they are very worried,” he told The Associated Press after talking to victims and prosecutors.

He did not file a guilty plea on Monday after he was formally charged. In Nevada, defendants do not plead guilty until their criminal case is transferred to state district court, either after indictment by a grand jury or after the judge determines that prosecutors have enough evidence to bring the defendant to trial. court.

Chasing Horse played the part of a Sioux tribe member who smiles a lot in Kevin Costner’s 1990 Oscar-winning film.

He has since earned a reputation among the tribes of the United States and Canada as a “witch doctor”. According to police, Chasing Horse abused this position and took underage wives for over two decades in several states, including South Dakota, Montana and Nevada, where he lived for about ten years. He was also expelled from the Fort Peck reservation in Poplar, Montana in 2015 on similar charges.

Detectives described Chasing Horse in a 50-page search warrant as the leader of a cult known as The Circle, whose followers believed he could communicate with higher powers.

Pete of the Indian Center in Las Vegas described the role of the medicine man in their culture as a highly respected leadership position. “They’re like priests, if you will.

“You follow what they teach,” he said, adding that the victims showed great courage in coming forward despite the intimidation and threats Pete said they faced after Chasing Horse was arrested.

The arrest report for Chasing Horse shows that at least six victims have been identified, including one who was 13 when she said she was abused and another who said she was offered to him as a “gift”. ‘ when she was 15 years old.

After SWAT officers took him into custody last week, detectives searched the family’s home and found a weapon, 41 pounds (18.5 kg) of marijuana and psilocybin mushrooms, according to the arrest report.

The criminal lawsuit, filed on Monday, also charges Chasing Horse with two offenses involving a dead bald eagle and parts of a dead hawk found during a search of his property.

Chasing Horse was born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, home to the Sikangu Sioux, one of the seven tribes of the Lakota Nation.

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texasstandard.news contributed to this report.

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