Nevada Supreme Court orders dismissal of Nathan Chasing Horse sex abuse case
The Nevada Supreme Court has ordered the dismissal of a sprawling sex abuse indictment against Nathan Chasing Horse, while leaving open the possibility of charges being refiled in a case that sent shockwaves throughout Indian Country and led to more criminal charges in the U.S. and Canada.
The full seven-member court’s decision, issued Thursday, reverses earlier rulings upholding the charges by a three-member panel of the high court and a state judge. Proceedings in the 18-count criminal case have been at a standstill for more than a year while the former “Dances with Wolves” actor challenged it.
Kristy Holston, the deputy public defender representing Chasing Horse, had argued that some evidence presented to the grand jury, including an improper definition of grooming that was presented without expert testimony, had tainted the state’s case. Holston said prosecutors also failed to provide the grand jury with exculpatory evidence, including inconsistent statements made by one of the victims.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department via AP
The high court agreed.
CBS News previously reported. Police said that at least two of the women were underage when he married them: One was 15, police said, and another was 16.
Ty O’Neil / AP
Chasing Horse is best known for portraying Smiles A Lot in the 1990 film “Dances with Wolves.” But in the decades since starring in the Oscar-winning movie, authorities said, he built a reputation as self-proclaimed medicine man among tribes and traveled around North America to perform healing ceremonies. An arrest warrant stated that he is believed to be the leader of a cult called “The Circle,” whose followers believe he can communicate with higher powers, CBS News previously reported.
He is accused of using that position to gain access to vulnerable girls and women starting in the early 2000s.
He also faces criminal sexual abuse charges in at least four other jurisdictions, including U.S. District Court in Nevada and on the Fort Perk Indian Reservation in Montana.
Tribal leaders voted to ban him from the Montana reservation in 2015, citing alleged trafficking and accusations of drug dealing, spiritual abuse and intimidation of tribal members.
Las Vegas police arrested Chasing Horse in January 2023. The arrest helped law enforcement agencies in two countries corroborate long-standing allegations against the former actor. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported that police in southern Alberta have been investigating his possible connection to past sexual assaults.
Source: cbsnews.com