Victims, police detectives and federal agents are expected to speak in court Monday before a judge decides whether the former “Dances with Wolves” actor should be convicted of sexually abusing Indigenous girls and leading a cult over a period of two decades. Whether bail should be given to the accused of leading the
Nathan Chasing Horse, 46, is facing charges of sex trafficking, sexual assault and child abuse after his arrest last Tuesday near the North Las Vegas home he shares with his wives. He has not been formally charged in the case.
He appeared briefly in court Thursday in North Las Vegas for the first time but did not speak as his public defenders invoked his right to a detention hearing on his behalf, citing Nevada case law, which allows prosecutors to Strong evidence needs to be presented as to why a defendant should. stay in custody
Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney Jessica Walsh told the judge Thursday that she expects Las Vegas police detectives, FBI special agents and victims to speak at Monday’s hearing.
North Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Natalie Tyrell also got to hear from Chasing Horse’s relatives, who attended his first court hearing last week and filled a row in the courtroom gallery in a show of support.
Best known for his role as a young member of the Sioux tribe Smiles a Lot in Kevin Costner’s Oscar-winning film, Chasing Horse has made a name for himself among tribes across the United States and in Canada as a “medicine man”. Made a reputation, which performed healing ceremonies. He was born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, which is home to the Sikangu Sioux, one of the seven tribes of the Lakota Nation.
In a 50-page search warrant obtained by The Associated Press, police described Chasing Horse as the leader of a cult known as The Circle, whose followers believed he was in contact with higher powers. can communicate with.
Police said he abused his position, physically and sexually assaulted indigenous girls and took wives as young as two decades old.
According to the warrant, Chasing Horse trained his wives to use firearms and instructed them to “shoot down” with police officers if they tried to “break up his family”. The document states that he told his wives to take “suicide pills” if he failed, or if he was ever arrested or died unexpectedly.
SWAT officers and detectives took Chasing Horse into custody last week and cleared the family’s home without incident.
Detectives searching the property found guns, 41 pounds (18.5 kilograms) of marijuana and psilocybin mushrooms, and a memory card with several videos of sexual assaults, according to an arrest report released Wednesday.
The report states that additional charges related to the video may be filed.
Las Vegas police said in the search warrant that at least six victims were identified, including one who was 13 when she said she was abused and another who said she was 15 when she was ” Presented as a “gift”.
Police said the crimes date back to the early 2000s and span several states, including South Dakota, Montana and Nevada, where he has lived for nearly a decade.
His arrest came nearly a decade after he was removed from the Fort Peck Reservation in Poplar, Montana, amid similar allegations.