Dances With Wolves actor Nathan Chasing Horse…
A Nevada jury convicted “Dances With Wolves” actor Nathan Chasing Horse on Friday, discovering him guilty of inappropriately assaulting Indigenous girls and women in a case prosecutors said uncovered years of hidden abuse.
The verdict was delivered in Las Vegas.
Jurors discovered Chasing Horse guilty of 13 of the 21 prices he confronted, most involving a sufferer who was 14 years previous when the assaults started.
He was acquitted on a number of inappropriate assault prices tied to a later period when the sufferer was older and dwelling with him and other companions.
The 49-year-old defendant faces a minimal of 25 years in prison.
His sentencing is scheduled for March 11.
Prosecutors said the previous actor weaponized his repute as a Lakota drugs man, exploiting cultural traditions and religious beliefs to prey on Indigenous girls and women.
The verdict capped a yearslong effort to maintain Chasing Horse accountable after he was first arrested and indicted in 2023, sending what authorities described as shock waves through the world.
Over the course of an 11-day trial, jurors heard testimony from three girls who claimed Chasing Horse inappropriately assaulted them, some while they had been underage.
The jury in the end returned guilty verdicts on prices tied to all three accusers.
Deputy District Attorney Bianca Pucci told jurors that for almost twenty years, Chasing Horse “spun a web of abuse” that trapped weak girls.
Prosecutors said the main accuser was just 14 years previous in 2012 when Chasing Horse allegedly told her that spirits demanded she give up her virginity to save her mom, who had been recognized with cancer.
“Dances With Wolves” actor Nathan Chasing Horse, 49, was convicted by a Las Vegas, Nevada jury as he was discovered guilty of inappropriately assaulting Indigenous girls and women. AP
According to Pucci, the assaults continued for years, bolstered by warnings that her mom would die if she told anybody.
Defense attorney Craig Mueller argued the case lacked bodily evidence and eyewitness testimony.
He challenged the credibility of the main accuser, calling her a “scorned woman.”
Mueller said he’ll search a new trial and told The Associated Press he was confused and upset by the jury’s determination, citing “meaningful doubts about the sincerity of the accusations.”
As the verdict was read aloud, Chasing Horse stood silently in the courtroom. Outside, victims and supporters wept, hugged and wore yellow ribbons. The main sufferer declined to remark.
Chasing was discovered guilty on 13 of 21 prices and faces a minimal of 25 years in prison. MGM
Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney William Rowles said the verdict belonged to the ladies who got here ahead.
“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,” Rowles said.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson, who got here to the courtroom to hear the verdict, said the choice carried a broader message past the case itself.
“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,” Wolfson said.
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.
He grew to become widely recognized for portraying Smiles a Lot in Kevin Costner’s Oscar-winning 1990 movie “Dances with Wolves,” one of the most distinguished films of its time to function Native American actors.
The trial unfolded amid elevated scrutiny of violence against Native girls, an issue authorities have acknowledged has long been underreported and under-prosecuted.
Chasing Horse also faces intercourse crime prices in other states and in Canada.
British Columbia prosecutors said Friday they’ll decide how to proceed after his sentencing and any appeals in the United States are accomplished.
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