Actor Turned Alleged Sex Cult Leader Now Also Faces Charges in Canada

UPDATE Feb 8, 2023 1:35 AM CST

Canadian police confirmed Tuesday they are pursuing a criminal case against a former Dances With Wolves actor who was arrested last week and charged in Nevada with sexually abusing and trafficking Indigenous women and girls. Nathan Chasing Horse, who also goes by Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse, was taken into custody Jan. 31 near the North Las Vegas home he shares with his five wives. Prior to his arrest, the 46-year-old had been the focus of a monthslong probe by Las Vegas police prompted by a tip last October from Canadian law enforcement, who had identified Chasing Horse as a suspect in a 2018 rape in the British Columbia village of Keremeos, near the Washington state border. That's the rape in which he has now been charged in Canada, the AP reports.

Feb 1, 2023 2:00 AM CST

Las Vegas police on Tuesday arrested and raided the home of a former actor turned alleged cult leader accused of sexually assaulting young Indigenous girls during a period spanning two decades, according to police records obtained by the AP. Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse, who goes by Nathan Chasing Horse, was taken into custody in the afternoon near the North Las Vegas home he is said to share with his five wives. SWAT officers were seen outside the two-story home in the evening as detectives searched the property.

Known for his role as the young Sioux tribe member Smiles a Lot in the Oscar-winning Kevin Costner film Dances With Wolves, Chasing Horse gained a reputation among tribes across the United States and in Canada as a so-called medicine man who performed healing ceremonies and spiritual gatherings and, police allege, used his position to abuse young Native American girls. His arrest is the culmination of a months-long investigation that began after police received a tip in October 2022. According to a 50-page search warrant obtained by the AP, Chasing Horse is believed to be the leader of a cult known as The Circle.

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According to the document, Las Vegas police have identified at least six alleged victims and uncovered sexual allegations against Chasing Horse dating to the early 2000s in multiple states, including Montana, South Dakota, and Nevada, where he has lived for about a decade. The alleged crimes include sex trafficking, sexual assault of a child younger than 16, and child abuse. Some of the alleged victims were as young as 13, according to the warrant. One of Chasing Horse's wives was allegedly offered to him as a “gift” when she was 15, while another became a wife after turning 16. Chasing Horse also is accused of recording sexual assaults and arranging sex with the victims for other men who allegedly paid him.

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