Exploitation and abuse will not be tolerated, regardless of spiritual authority
In a Las Vegas courtroom, a jury delivered a verdict that closed one chapter of a long and painful story — finding actor Nathan Chasing Horse guilty of 13 sexual assault charges, including crimes against a girl who was fourteen years old when the abuse began. The case, rooted in the exploitation of spiritual trust, arrives at a moment when society is reckoning more seriously with violence against Native women. Fame and the appearance of sacred authority, the verdict affirms, do not place anyone beyond accountability.
- A girl of fourteen was told by a man she trusted spiritually that the spirits demanded she sacrifice her virginity to save her dying mother — and then he threatened her silence with her mother's life.
- Three women ultimately took the stand, carrying decades of private harm into a public courtroom, their yellow ribbons visible in the hallway as the verdict was read.
- The defense challenged every thread — no physical evidence, no witnesses, a scorned accuser — but prosecutors argued that abuse by its nature happens in private, where power does the silencing.
- The jury convicted on 13 of 21 counts; Chasing Horse now faces a minimum of 25 years, with sentencing set for March 11 and additional charges waiting in other states and Canada.
- For prosecutors and advocates, the verdict is both a resolution and a signal — that spiritual authority cannot be weaponized as a shield, and that the epidemic of violence against Native women will no longer be quietly absorbed.
Nathan Chasing Horse stood still as a Nevada jury found him guilty of 13 of 21 sexual assault charges in a Las Vegas courtroom. Outside, women who had accused him wept and held each other, wearing yellow ribbons. The primary victim said nothing.
Chasing Horse, 49, rose to public recognition through his role in Kevin Costner's 1990 Oscar-winning film Dances With Wolves, one of the most prominent platforms for Native American actors in mainstream cinema. In the years that followed, he built a persona as a spiritual healer, traveling across North America performing ceremonies. Prosecutors argued that persona became his instrument of control.
The central accuser described how, in 2012, Chasing Horse told her the spirits required her to give up her virginity to save her mother, who had cancer. He assaulted her and warned that speaking out would cost her mother's life. She was fourteen. Over nearly two decades, prosecutors said, he constructed what they called a web of abuse around multiple women.
The defense pointed to the absence of physical evidence and eyewitnesses, and questioned the main accuser's motives. Prosecutors responded that sexual assault rarely has witnesses — it unfolds in private, where power imbalances are most easily exploited. The jury sided with the prosecution.
Chasing Horse faces a minimum of 25 years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for March 11. His attorney has announced plans to seek a new trial. Additional sex crime charges await him in other U.S. states and in Canada, where British Columbia prosecutors said they will assess their next steps once the Nevada proceedings conclude.
Clark County officials thanked the women who came forward, expressing hope that the verdict might bring some measure of peace. The conviction lands amid a broader and long-overdue reckoning with violence against Native women — a reminder that public stature and claims of sacred authority offer no shelter from justice.
Nathan Chasing Horse stood motionless as the verdict was read in a Las Vegas courtroom on Friday. A Nevada jury had just found the actor guilty of 13 of 21 sexual assault charges, most of them centered on his abuse of a girl who was 14 years old when he began assaulting her. In the hallway outside, women who had accused him wept and embraced, wearing yellow ribbons. The main victim said nothing.
Chasing Horse, 49, is best known for his role as Smiles a Lot in "Dances With Wolves," Kevin Costner's 1990 Oscar-winning film that became one of the most visible vehicles for Native American actors in mainstream cinema. After the film's success, he traveled across North America performing healing ceremonies, building a public persona rooted in spiritual authority. That same authority, prosecutors argued, became a tool for manipulation and control.
The case began in 2023 when Chasing Horse was first arrested and indicted—a moment that reverberated through Indian Country. The Nevada Supreme Court later ordered the dismissal of his original indictment in 2024, but the prosecution continued. During the three-week trial, three women testified that he had sexually assaulted them. The primary accuser described how, in 2012, Chasing Horse told her that the spirits demanded she give up her virginity to save her mother, who had been diagnosed with cancer. He then assaulted her and threatened that if she told anyone, her mother would die. For nearly two decades, according to prosecutors, he wove what they called a web of abuse that ensnared multiple women.
The defense argued there was no physical evidence, no eyewitnesses. Chasing Horse's attorney, Craig Mueller, questioned the credibility of the main accuser, calling her a scorned woman. But prosecutors countered that sexual assault cases rarely have eyewitnesses—they happen behind closed doors, in private spaces where power imbalances can be weaponized. Clark County Deputy District Attorney Bianca Pucci laid out the pattern in her closing statements. The jury agreed.
Chasing Horse faces a minimum of 25 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for March 11. Mueller has said he will file a motion for a new trial and told the Associated Press he was confused and disappointed by the verdict. Earlier in the month, Chasing Horse had disrupted court proceedings with demands to fire his defense attorney and was temporarily removed from the courtroom.
Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney William Rowles thanked the women who had come forward. "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," he said. District Attorney Steve Wolfson issued a statement: "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."
The conviction arrives amid a broader reckoning. Law enforcement has intensified its response in recent years to what officials describe as an epidemic of violence against Native women. The case also extends beyond Nevada. Chasing Horse has been charged with sex crimes in other U.S. states and in Canada. British Columbia prosecutors said Friday that once he has been sentenced and any appeals are exhausted in the United States, they will assess their next steps in their own prosecution.
Citas Notables
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.— William Rowles, Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney
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.— Steve Wolfson, Clark County District Attorney
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
How did someone with his public profile—someone known for spiritual work—manage to operate this way for so long?
The spiritual authority itself became the mechanism. He told a 14-year-old girl that the spirits wanted her to do something. When you've built a persona around healing and connection to something sacred, people listen. They trust. And that trust becomes leverage.
The jury acquitted him on some charges. What distinguished those from the ones where he was convicted?
The acquittals came when the victim was older and living with him—situations where the power dynamic was perhaps less clear-cut to a jury, or where the evidence felt more ambiguous. But the core abuse, the manipulation of a child, that's what stuck.
His defense attorney said there were no eyewitnesses. Is that actually a weakness in these cases?
It's a common argument, but it misses how abuse works. It happens in private. The jury understood that. Prosecutors made the point explicitly—you don't get witnesses to assault.
What happens now with the cases in other states and Canada?
He has to be sentenced first, then any appeals play out. Only after that do the other jurisdictions move. So this verdict is the first domino, but there are more waiting.
The victims wore yellow ribbons. What does that signify?
It's become a symbol of solidarity with Native women experiencing violence. It's a statement that they're not alone, that this matters, that someone finally listened.