The Nevada Supreme Court has ordered the dismissal of widespread sexual abuse charges against Nathan Chasing Horse, but he will be re-indicted in the case that shocked all of India and led to further criminal charges in the US and Canada. I left the possibility open.
The seven-member court’s decision, handed down Thursday, overturns previous rulings by a three-member high court panel and a state judge that upheld the charges. Proceedings in 18 criminal cases have been stalled for more than a year while the former “Dances with Wolves” actor appeals the case.
Chasing Horse’s acting public defender, Christy Holston, argued that some evidence presented to the grand jury tainted the state’s case, including an inadequate definition of grooming that was presented without expert testimony. Halston said prosecutors also failed to present exculpatory evidence to the grand jury, including inconsistent statements from one of the victims.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, via AP
The High Court agreed.
“The combination of these two obvious errors undermined our confidence in the grand jury process and caused intolerable harm to the independent functioning of the grand jury process,” the court said in its scathing order.
Mr. Halston declined further comment. Prosecutor Stacey Collins did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
The ruling instructs the judge overseeing the case in Clark County District Court to dismiss the charges without prejudice, meaning the charges could be refiled.
“The allegations against Chasing Horse are undoubtedly serious and we express no opinion as to Chasing Horse’s guilt or innocence,” the order states.
Chasing Horse’s attorneys also argued that the case should be dismissed because the sexual contact was consensual. One of the accusers was under 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 his home in North Las Vegas, where he is said to have lived with five wives. Inside the home, police found a firearm, 41 pounds of marijuana and psilocybin mushrooms, and a memory card containing a video of the sexual assault. CBS News previously reported. Police said at least two of the women were minors at the time of the marriage, one 15 and the other 16.
Ty O’Neal/AP
Chasing Horse is best known for playing Smiles-A-Lot in the 1990 film Dances with Wolves. But in the decades since his appearance in the Oscar-winning film, he has developed a reputation among tribes as a self-styled shaman, traveling across North America performing healing rituals, authorities said. The arrest warrant states that he is believed to be the leader of a cult called “The Circle,” whose members believe he can communicate with higher powers, CBS News previously reported. .
He is accused of using his position to gain access to vulnerable girls and women since the early 2000s.
He also faces criminal sexual abuse charges in at least four other jurisdictions, including federal district court in Nevada and the Fort Park Indian Reservation in Montana.
In 2015, tribal leaders voted to ban him from their Montana reservation, citing suspicions of human trafficking, drug dealing, emotional abuse and intimidation of tribal members.
Las Vegas police arrested Chasing Horse in January 2023. The arrest helped law enforcement in both countries confirm longstanding suspicions against the former actor. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported that police in southern Alberta are investigating a possible link to past sexual assaults.