A Nevada grand jury on Wednesday indicted “Dances With Wolves” star Nathan Chasing Horse on numerous charges of sexual abuse, and the trafficking of indigenous women and girls.
Chasing Horse, whose full name is Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse, played the character Smiles A Lot in the 1990 Best Picture winner.
The famous actor was indicted on 19 counts, an expansion of previous charges, which included sexual assault, child abuse, lewdness, drug trafficking and kidnapping, according to The Associated Press. Charges are mounting against the actor and include crimes committed over several decades, in both Canada and the United States.
ACTOR INDICTED: A grand jury indicts former actor Nathan Chasing Horse on 19 charges, most are for the alleged sexual assault of girls under 16 #8NNhttps://t.co/vZH2M4c31X
— 8 News Now (@8NewsNow) February 22, 2023
The newest case against the actor was brought on by prosecutors on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana.
Forty-six-year-old Chasing Horse now faces charges in four jurisdictions, and police in Las Vegas describe him as the leader of a cult called “The Circle,” according to AP. Cult members believed Chasing Horse had healing powers and the ability to communicate with higher beings, the outlet noted.
Police allege he used his position of power to gain access to young Indigenous girls and women and then proceeded to sexually assault them and take the underage girls as wives, according to AP. (RELATED: Ashton Kutcher Breaks Silence On Danny Masterson’s Sexual Assault Charges )
There is an online petition to try to keep #NathanChasingHorse behind bars.@8NewsNow https://t.co/S9Euf6bjuW
— Vanessa_Murphy (@Vanessa_Murphy) February 23, 2023
Chasing Horse’s public defender, Kristy Holston, alluded to the presence of ‘holes’ in the state’s case against her client, but did not elaborate.
“Since the public is so interested in this case and because only select details of the accusations have been released, we think it would be most appropriate for the State to present their evidence in a public hearing where the defense can reveal the weaknesses of the State’s case on the record in court,” Holston wrote in an email, per AP.
Chasing Horse was arrested on Jan. 31 near his home in Las Vegas, where he lived with five wives, the outlet reported. Police seized drugs and cell phone footage of sexual assault. He is currently being held on a $3,000,000 bond and is scheduled for arraignment on March 1 in Clark County District Court, according to AP.