Published on: January 30, 2026, 05:03h.
Last updated on: January 30, 2026, 05:03h.
- A Las Vegas jury found former “Dances With Wolves” actor Nathan Chasing Horse guilty of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl
- Prosecutors claimed videos demonstrated separate exploitation of another victim aged 12 or 13
- Chasing Horse is scheduled for sentencing on March 11 in Las Vegas
A jury in Las Vegas declared “Dances With Wolves” actor Nathan Chasing Horse guilty on Friday of the sexual assault of a minor, concluding a trial that spanned three weeks and followed a lengthy investigation into claims from two underage victims.
At 49 years old, Chasing Horse was convicted on several sexual assault charges concerning a victim who testified that the abuse began when she was just 14 in 2012.
Prosecutors asserted that Chasing Horse leveraged his self-identified role as a Lakota medicine man to manipulate the victim, claiming that “the spirits” demanded she relinquish her virginity to safeguard her mother, who was battling cancer. The victim testified that he threatened her mother would perish if she revealed the abuse.
Chasing Horse gained fame for his role as Smiles A Lot in the 1990 classic “Dances With Wolves.” Following the success of the Academy Award-winning film, he traveled throughout North America to perform healing rituals.
A second victim is linked to additional allegations stemming from videos obtained from a locked safe during a police raid on Chasing Horse’s residence in North Las Vegas in January 2023.
Authorities indicated that the seized cellphones included recordings from 2010 or 2011 depicting him sexually abusing the victim when she was 12 or 13. These recordings contributed to charges that were reinstated in 2024 after the Nevada Supreme Court dismissed the initial indictment on procedural grounds that did not address guilt or innocence.
As the verdict was announced, Chasing Horse reportedly remained silent while victims and their supporters cried and embraced in the courthouse hallway.
Facing 21 charges, including sexual assault, sexual assault of a minor under 16, first-degree kidnapping of a minor, and involving a minor under 14 in the production of pornography, Chasing Horse was acquitted of several charges, including at least one related to kidnapping.
He is set for sentencing on March 11.