A grand jury in the US has again indicted Nathan Chasing Horse on charges that he sexually abused Indigenous women and girls for decades, reviving a sweeping criminal case against the former Dances with Wolves actor. The 21-count indictment unsealed on Thursday in Nevada's Clark County District Court, which includes Las Vegas, again charges the 48-year-old with sexual assault, lewdness and kidnapping. It also adds felony charges of producing and possessing child sexual abuse materials.
It comes after the Nevada Supreme Court in September ordered the dismissal of Chasing Horse's original indictment, while leaving open the possibility for charges to be refiled. The court sided with Chasing Horse, saying in its scathing order that prosecutors had abused the grand jury process. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson quickly vowed to seek another indictment.
The initial 18-count indictment charged Chasing Horse with more than a dozen felonies. He had pleaded not guilty. His lawyer, Kristy Holston, had also argued the case should be dismissed because, the former actor said, the sexual encounters were consensual.
One of his accusers was younger than 16, the age of consent in Nevada, when the abuse began, according to the indictment. Neither Wolfson nor Holston immediately responded Thursday to phone or emailed requests for comment. Best known for portraying the character Smiles A Lot in the 1990 movie Dances with Wolves, Chasing Horse was born on the Rosebud Reservation in Sou.
