By Jessica Hill 

Dances With Wolves actor Nathan Chasing Horse has been sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting Indigenous women and girls.

A Nevada judge gave the US actor his sentence on Monday.

A jury had previously convicted him of 13 charges, mostly related to sexual assault. He was accused by three women, including one who was 14 when the assaults began. He was acquitted on some charges.

Accusers and their families told Judge Jessica Peterson they continue to suffer from the trauma caused by Chasing Horse and struggle with their faith after he exploited his position as a spiritual leader.

Chasing Horse stared straight ahead as victims read their statements. He denied the charges against him.

“This is a miscarriage of justice,” he told the judge on Monday.

The sentencing wraps a years-long 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. Those charges are still pending.

The British Columbia Prosecution Service said Chasing Horse was charged with sexual assault in February 2023, though the date of the alleged offence 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, said Damienne Darby, communications counsel for the British Columbia Prosecution Service.

A warrant against Chasing Horse remains outstanding in Alberta, the Tsuut’ina Nation Police Service in Alberta said in a statement following Chasing Horse’s conviction in January. The Tsuut’ina Nation Police Service said it is in contact with the Alberta Crown Prosecutors Office regarding the warrant.

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. Following his appearance as the young Sioux tribe member Smiles a Lot in Kevin Costner’s Oscar-winning film Dances With Wolves, Chasing Horse travelled across Indian Country to attend powwows and perform healing ceremonies.

During his trial, 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.

Chasing Horse denied the allegations and his lawyers questioned the main accuser’s credibility, calling her a “scorned woman.”

His lawyer had filed a motion for a new trial, arguing that a witness was not qualified to talk about grooming and that the statute of limitations had expired. That motion was denied.

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