Sentencing delayed for 'Dances With Wolves' actor convicted of sexual
assault
[March 12, 2026]
By JESSICA HILL
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The sentencing for Nathan Chasing Horse following his
conviction for sexual assault of Indigenous women and girls has been
delayed by a week.
The sentencing was scheduled to take place Wednesday, but Judge Jessica
Peterson agreed to move the hearing to March 18. It will bring to a
close a case that sent shock waves through Indian Country.
The sentencing of the “Dances With Wolves” actor comes about a month
after a Nevada jury convicted him on 13 of the 21 charges he faced. Most
related to his conduct with a victim who was 14 when he began assaulting
her. Chasing Horse was acquitted of some sexual assault charges.
He faces a minimum of 25 years in prison.
Following the trial, Chasing Horse’s attorney Craig Mueller filed a
motion for a new trial, arguing a witness was not qualified to talk
about grooming and that the statute of limitations had expired. That
motion was denied.
The sentencing wraps a yearslong effort to prosecute the former actor
after he was first arrested and indicted in 2023. That initial arrest
reverberated around Indian Country, with law enforcement in other states
and Canada following up with more criminal charges.
Charges pending in Canada
The British Columbia Prosecution Service said Chasing Horse was charged
with sexual assault in February 2023, though the date of the alleged
offense took place in September 2018 near Keremeos, a village about four
hours east of Vancouver. In November 2023, the case paused due to
Chasing Horse’s charges in the United States, but resumed the following
year.
After all of Chasing Horse’s appeals have been exhausted, British
Columbia prosecutors will assess next steps, Damienne Darby,
communications counsel for the British Columbia Prosecution Service,
said in an email Tuesday.
The Tsuut’ina Nation Police Service in Alberta said in a statement
following Chasing Horse’s conviction that a warrant remains outstanding
against him and said that it is in contact with the Alberta Crown
Prosecutors Office regarding the warrant.
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Nathan Chasing Horse appears in court for his trial on charges of
sexually abusing Indigenous women and girls, Jan. 20, 2026, in Las
Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
 ‘Web of abuse’
Nevada prosecutors said Chasing Horse used his reputation as a
Lakota medicine man to prey on Indigenous women and girls.
Deputy District Attorney Bianca Pucci told the jury that for almost
20 years, Chasing Horse “spun a web of abuse” that ensnared many
women.
Jurors heard from three women who said Chasing Horse sexually
assaulted them. The jury returned guilty verdicts on some charges
related to all three.
Following his appearance as Smiles a Lot in Kevin Costner’s
Oscar-winning film “Dances With Wolves,” Chasing Horse, born on the
Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, traveled across Indian Country
to attend powwows and perform healing ceremonies.
Multiple victims described how they participated in his ceremonies
or went to Chasing Horse for medical help.
The main accuser was 14 in 2012 when Chasing Horse allegedly told
her the spirits wanted her to give up her virginity to save her
mother, who was diagnosed with cancer. He then sexually assaulted
her and told her that if she told anyone, her mother would die,
according to Pucci. The sexual assaults continued for years, Pucci
said.
He denied the allegations and his attorney questioned the main
accuser’s credibility, calling her a “scorned woman.”
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