Nevada Supreme Court orders Nathan Chasing Horse sexual abuse case dismissed

The Nevada Supreme Court has ordered the dismissal of a sweeping sexual abuse charge against Nathan Chasing Horse, while leaving open the possibility of re-indictment in a case that sent shockwaves throughout Indian Country and led to additional criminal charges in the United States and Canada.

The seven-judge panel’s decision, announced Thursday, overturns earlier rulings that upheld the indictment by a three-judge Supreme Court panel and a state judge. Proceedings in the 18-count criminal case had been stalled for more than a year while the former “Dances with Wolves” actor challenged it.

Kristy Holston, Chasing Horse’s assistant public defender, had argued that some evidence presented to the grand jury, including an incorrect definition of grooming that was presented without expert testimony, had prejudiced the state’s case. Holston said prosecutors also failed to present exculpatory evidence to the grand jury, including contradictory testimony from one of the victims.

The Supreme Court agreed.

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

Holston declined to comment further. District Attorney Stacy Kollins did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

The ruling directs the Clark County District Court judge presiding over the case to dismiss the charges without prejudice, meaning the charges can be refiled.

“The allegations against Chasing Horse are undeniably serious and we express no opinion on Chasing Horse’s guilt or innocence,” the order states.

Chasing Horse’s attorney had also argued that the lawsuit should be dismissed because the sexual encounters were consensual, the former actor said. One of his accusers was younger than 16, the age of consent in Nevada, when the alleged abuse began, authorities said.

The 48-year-old has been in custody since his arrest last January near the North Las Vegas home he allegedly shared with five women. Inside the house, police found firearms, 41 pounds of marijuana and psilocybin mushrooms, and a memory card with videos of sexual assaults. CBS News previously reported. Police said at least two of the women were minors when he married them: One was 15, police said, and another 16.

Chasing Horse is best known for his role as Smiles A Lot in the 1990 film “Dances with Wolves.” But in the decades since his starring role in the Oscar-winning film, authorities say he has built a reputation among the tribes as a self-proclaimed medicine man and has traveled across North America to perform healing ceremonies. An arrest warrant says he is the leader of a cult called “The Circle,” whose followers believe he can communicate with higher powers, CBS News previously reported.

He is accused of having used this position since the early 2000s to gain access to vulnerable girls and women.

He also faces sexual abuse charges in at least four other jurisdictions, including in U.S. District Court in Nevada and on the Fort Perk Indian Reservation in Montana.
In 2015, tribal leaders voted to ban him from the reservation in Montana, alleging human and drug trafficking, spiritual abuse and intimidation of tribal members.

Las Vegas police arrested Chasing Horse in January 2023. The arrest helped law enforcement in two countries confirm long-standing allegations against the former actor. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported that police in southern Alberta are investigating his possible connection to previous sexual assaults.