He spun a web of abuse that caught many women over nearly two decades.
For nearly two decades, Nathan Chasing Horse wielded the twin currencies of celebrity and spiritual authority to prey upon Indigenous women and girls across Indian Country — a betrayal that courts in Nevada have now answered with a sentence of life in prison. Convicted on thirteen counts spanning three victims, one of whom was only fourteen when the abuse began, Chasing Horse's case asks the oldest of human questions: what becomes of trust when those entrusted with the sacred use it as a weapon? The verdict closes one chapter, but the wounds to faith, body, and community it names will outlast any courtroom.
- A man who parlayed a single film role into decades of ceremonial authority used that authority to sexually assault women and girls who came to him seeking healing — not harm.
- One victim was fourteen when she was told the spirits demanded her virginity to save her dying mother, a manipulation so precise in its cruelty it silenced her for years through fear alone.
- The survivors carried their trauma into a Las Vegas courtroom and spoke it aloud — describing emergency surgeries, shattered faith, and the long labor of reclaiming a self that had been taken.
- A Nevada jury convicted Chasing Horse on thirteen counts; the judge sentenced him to life, denying a defense motion that called the verdict a miscarriage of justice.
- The legal reckoning is not finished — charges remain pending in British Columbia and a warrant stands in Alberta, meaning accountability may yet cross borders.
Nathan Chasing Horse sat still in his detention uniform as three women described what he had done to them. He did not look at them. One explained how, at fourteen, he had told her the spirits required her virginity to save her mother from cancer — and then threatened that if she spoke, her mother would die. Another described the ectopic pregnancy and emergency surgery that followed his assault. Their mothers testified that he had broken something in them that went beyond the body: their faith in the sacred traditions he claimed to carry.
On Monday in Las Vegas, a Nevada judge sentenced Chasing Horse to life in prison. A jury had convicted him on thirteen counts of sexual assault spanning three women. He denied everything, telling the judge the verdict was a miscarriage of justice.
Chasing Horse grew up on the Rosebud Reservation and gained his public profile in the late 1980s playing a young Sioux warrior in Kevin Costner's Oscar-winning film "Dances With Wolves." That role became a passport. For nearly two decades he traveled Indian Country, attending powwows and performing healing ceremonies, building a reputation as a Lakota medicine man. Prosecutors said he turned that reputation into a weapon, spinning what Deputy District Attorney Bianca Pucci called a "web of abuse" — inviting women to ceremonies or receiving them when they came seeking help, then exploiting their trust.
At sentencing, the survivors and their families described what had been taken. One still faces medical complications. Another said she was choosing to treat the day as a fresh start. A mother said she struggles still to reclaim her faith and spirituality. The judge denied a defense motion for a new trial.
The case extends beyond Nevada. Chasing Horse faces sexual assault charges in British Columbia and an outstanding warrant in Alberta. Once his appeals are exhausted, Canadian prosecutors will determine what follows. For those who study how power is abused, the pattern is familiar — a trusted figure weaponizing belief — but for the women who survived him, the questioning of who to trust, and why, may never fully resolve.
Nathan Chasing Horse sat motionless in his navy detention center uniform as three women described the years he spent abusing them. He stared straight ahead, refusing to look at them, even as one explained how he had told her at fourteen that the spirits demanded she surrender her virginity to save her mother's life from cancer. Even as another described the ectopic pregnancy and emergency surgery that followed his assault. Even as their mothers testified that he had shattered their faith in the sacred traditions he claimed to represent.
On Monday in Las Vegas, a Nevada judge sentenced Chasing Horse to life in prison. A jury had convicted him on thirteen counts, most of them sexual assault charges. The convictions spanned three women, one of whom was fourteen when the abuse began. Chasing Horse denied everything. "This is a miscarriage of justice," he told the judge.
Chasing Horse was born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, home to the Sicangu Sioux, one of the seven tribes of the Lakota nation. In the late 1980s, he appeared in Kevin Costner's Oscar-winning film "Dances With Wolves," playing a young Sioux warrior named Smiles a Lot. That role became his passport. For nearly two decades afterward, he traveled across Indian Country attending powwows and performing healing ceremonies, building a reputation as a Lakota medicine man. Prosecutors said he used that reputation as a weapon.
During the January trial, Deputy District Attorney Bianca Pucci laid out the pattern. Chasing Horse, she told the jury, had "spun a web of abuse" that caught many women. He would invite them to his ceremonies or they would come to him seeking healing. Then he would exploit their trust and their vulnerability. One victim, Corena Leone-LaCroix, was fourteen in 2012 when Chasing Horse told her the spirits wanted her to give up her virginity to save her mother, who had been diagnosed with cancer. He sexually assaulted her and then threatened her: if she told anyone, her mother would die. The assaults continued for years. Leone-LaCroix has publicly identified herself, breaking the silence that Chasing Horse had imposed through fear.
The other victims testified to similar patterns of manipulation and coercion. Multiple women described participating in his ceremonies or seeking his help for medical issues, only to be assaulted. The jury found him guilty on charges related to all three women, though he was acquitted on some counts. His attorney had argued that the main accuser was a "scorned woman" and filed a motion for a new trial, claiming the statute of limitations had expired and that a witness was not qualified to testify about grooming. The judge denied the motion.
At sentencing, the women and their families spoke about what Chasing Horse had taken from them. One victim said she still faces medical complications from the assault and forced surgery. Another said she was choosing to see the sentencing as a fresh start, a moment to reclaim her voice and rebuild her life. The mothers of the victims spoke of their shattered trust, of how Chasing Horse had abused sacred traditions and betrayed the community that had welcomed him. "Even to this day I struggle to regain my faith and spirituality," one mother said.
The case does not end in Nevada. Chasing Horse faces additional sexual assault charges in British Columbia, stemming from an alleged offense in September 2018 near Keremeos, a village four hours east of Vancouver. He was charged in February 2023, though the case paused when his U.S. charges took priority. It resumed the following year. A warrant also remains outstanding in Alberta through the Tsuut'ina Nation Police Service. After Chasing Horse exhausts his appeals, British Columbia prosecutors will decide what comes next.
Dr. Crystal Lee, CEO of United Natives, an organization serving victims of sexual abuse, said the case underscores the importance of holding high-profile perpetrators accountable and believing the victims who come forward. Chasing Horse's abuse of his status as an actor and spiritual leader mirrors the pattern seen in other faith leaders who weaponize their power. "I think it makes us question who we trust and why we trust," Lee said. For the women who survived him, that questioning may never fully end.
Citações Notáveis
This is a miscarriage of justice.— Nathan Chasing Horse, to the judge
I am choosing to see this moment as a fresh start. I will rebuild my life, reclaim my voice and continue fighting for the future I deserve.— One of the victims, at sentencing
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
How did someone with his profile manage to operate for so long without serious consequences?
He had multiple shields. The film role gave him legitimacy. His position as a spiritual leader gave him access and authority. And he was moving across Indian Country, never staying in one place long enough for patterns to be noticed or reported.
The victim who was fourteen—how did he justify what he did to her?
He told her the spirits demanded it, that her mother's cancer would be cured if she gave up her virginity to him. He weaponized her love for her mother and her faith in the sacred. Then he threatened her into silence by saying her mother would die if she told anyone.
Did he ever express remorse?
No. He denied all the charges and called the conviction a miscarriage of justice. He sat through the victims' statements without looking at them. His attorney's strategy was to attack the credibility of the main accuser, calling her a scorned woman.
What does it mean that there are still pending charges in Canada and Alberta?
It means the full reckoning isn't over. Other jurisdictions had their own victims, their own evidence. The U.S. case took priority, but once his appeals are exhausted, prosecutors in British Columbia and Alberta will have to decide whether to pursue those charges.
What did the victims say about the aftermath?
They spoke about losing their faith, about struggling to trust sacred traditions again. One described ongoing medical complications from an assault and forced surgery. Another said she was choosing to see the sentencing as a chance to rebuild her life and reclaim her voice. The mothers talked about betrayal—not just of their daughters, but of the community and the traditions themselves.
Why does this case matter beyond the individuals involved?
Because it shows how positions of trust can be weaponized. Spiritual leaders, healers, mentors—they have access and authority that victims are taught to respect. When that's abused, it damages not just individuals but entire communities' relationship with their own faith and traditions.