Nevada court dismisses sex crimes case against Nathan Chasing Horse

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Also wanted on multiple sex crimes charges on Tsuut’ina First Nation dating back decades

Published Sep 26, 2024 • Last updated 32 minutes ago • 4 minute read

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Nathan Chasing Horse, left, and Clark County public defender Kristy Holston listen during a court hearing on April 5, 2023, in Las Vegas. Ty O’Neil/The Associated Press fileArticle content

Nathan Chasing Horse, the Dances with Wolves actor wanted in connection with sex crimes charges on Tsuut’ina First Nation, elsewhere in Canada and in the United States, has had a case against him thrown out in one U.S. jurisdiction.

The Nevada Supreme Court ordered on Thursday the dismissal of a sprawling sex abuse indictment against Chasing Horse, while leaving open the possibility of charges being refiled.

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Proceedings in the 18-count criminal case have been at a standstill for more than a year while the former actor challenged it. The full seven-member court’s decision reverses earlier rulings upholding the charges by a three-member panel of the high court and a state judge.

Kristy Holston, the chief deputy public defender representing Chasing Horse, had argued that a definition of grooming presented to the grand jury without expert testimony had tainted the state’s case. Holston said prosecutors also failed to provide the grand jury with evidence that could have cast a doubt on the allegations against Chasing Horse, including what she described as inconsistent statements made by one of the victims.

The high court agreed.

“The combination of these two clear errors undermines our confidence in the grand jury proceedings and created intolerable damage to the independent function of the grand jury process,” the court said in its scathing order.

Holston declined to comment. Prosecutor Stacy Kollins did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The Nevada ruling directs the judge overseeing the case in Clark County District Court to dismiss the indictment without prejudice, meaning the charges can be refiled.

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“The allegations against Chasing Horse are indisputably serious, and we express no opinion about Chasing Horse’s guilt or innocence,” the order says.

The Nevada high court’s order for dismissal won’t take effect immediately. Prosecutors have about three weeks to ask the court to reconsider.

Chasing Horse is charged with sexual assault of a minor, kidnapping and child abuse. He has pleaded not guilty.

The 48-year-old has been in custody since his arrest in January 2023 near the North Las Vegas home he is said to have shared with five wives. He is unlikely to be released from custody, even after his legal victory, because he faces charges in at least four other jurisdictions, including U.S. District Court in Nevada, and on the Fort Perk Indian Reservation in Montana.

Chasing Horse is also wanted on Tsuut’ina First Nation, west of Calgary, on four counts of sexual assault, three counts of sexual exploitation, one count of sexual interference with a person under the age of 16 years, and one count of removal of a child from Canada under the age of 16 years.

Nathan Chasing Horse sits in court in North Las Vegas, Nevada, on Feb. 8, 2023. Ty O’Neil/The Associated Press fileNathan Chasing Horse may never be prosecuted in Canada

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Tsuut’ina law enforcement officials have said they were unsure when Chasing Horse would face justice in Canada — if ever — due to the active cases pending in multiple locations.

At a briefing in June 2023, the Tsuut’ina First Nation Police Service revealed details about its investigation into the actor turned alleged cult leader, alleged to have used his position as a self-described medicine man to sexually abuse a number of young Indigenous girls in Canada and the U.S. over the course of two decades.

Tsuut’ina police Sgt. Nancy Farmer said at the time an extradition effort was possible but conceded there’s a possibility he never faces the local charges.

“The justice minister and the attorney general’s office will ultimately make that decision as to whether we would consider extradition for Mr. Chasing Horse to answer to his warrants,” she said.

“If he doesn’t do any time at all in the United States — which I’d be surprised about — there is a possibility that he’d be here, and it’s a Canada-wide warrant. We’ll absolutely lay hands on him and have him in custody.”

Farmer said regardless of the likelihood of extradition, it’s important local victims know they were heard.

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“If we just waited and said, ‘Well, let the United States go ahead with their stuff and just wait.’ How does the victim feel?” she said. “You have my information. I spoke to you. I gave you my statement. I cried tears in the quiet room with you. You smudged with me. We had an interaction that was meaningful because you heard my voice.”

Police have previously said Chasing Horse was banned from Tsuut’ina by the nation’s council in 2015, as he posed a threat to the “safety and well-being” of nation members. No specific reason has been given for the ban, but he did not face any charges locally at the time.

Similar bans exist in all of Saskatchewan’s 74 First Nations, police have said.

The local charges involve offences dating back as far as 2005, and Tsuut’ina police say their investigation spanned several years.

Chasing Horse is best known for portraying Smiles A Lot in the 1990 film Dances with Wolves.

In the decades since starring in the Oscar-winning movie, authorities said, he built a reputation as a self-proclaimed medicine man among tribes and travelled around North America to perform healing ceremonies.

He is accused of using that position to gain access to vulnerable girls and women starting in the early 2000s, leading a cult and taking underage wives.

— With files from The Associated Press

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