LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — A Las Vegas jury has found Nathan Chasing Horse, the former “Dances with Wolves” actor, guilty of more than a dozen counts, including sexual assault with a minor, lewdness, and possession of visual explicit conduct of a child.
According to court officials jurrors found Chasing Horse guilty of 13 counts and acquitted him of eight. The actor was found not guilty of charges related to kidnapping of a minor, sexual assault, use of a minor in producing pornography, and one count of visual depiction of sexual misconduct with a child.
The actor was accused of sexually abusing Indigenous women and girls. Prosecutors allege he used his reputation as a spiritual leader and healer to take advantage of his victims over two decades. He was arrested and indicted in early 2023.
Chasing Horse has pleaded not guilty to 21 charges, including sexual assault, sexual assault with a minor, first degree kidnapping of a minor and the use of a minor in producing pornography.
Best known for portraying the character Smiles A Lot in the 1990 movie “Dances with Wolves,” Chasing Horse was born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, which is home to the Sicangu Sioux, one of the seven tribes of the Lakota nation.
Prosecutors claim Chasing Horse led a cult called The Circle, and his followers believed he could speak with spirits. His victims went to him for medical help, according to a court transcript from a grand jury hearing.
He will be sentenced on March 11, according to court records.
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