Investigators in Las Vegas have disclosed that Dances With Wolves star Nathan Lee Chasing Horse had images of him sexually assaulting a girl as young as 11.
Chasing Horse, 46, appeared in a Las Vegas court on Wednesday February 8, on sexual assault charges, and his bail was set at $300,000, according to KTNV news anchor Rachel Moore. Prosecutors had requested his bail be set at $2million due to being a flight risk.
Prosecutors argued it should be higher after investigators found images of him sexually assaulting a girl between the ages of 11 and 13 and that his net worth is around $5million, according to 8 News Now.
Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney William Rowles said police had also found evidence that Chasing Horse had recently been grooming children to replace his victims that had grown up.
He has been accused of raping multiple indigenous women, including minors.
The actor’s public defender Kristy Holston had asked for his bail to be lowered to $50,000, an amount he could afford. She cited that Chasing Horse had a large community support behind him and had no prior criminal history.
She also said he would live with a family member who works with an organization committed to combating human trafficking if he was released on bail, according to 8 News Now.
However, Rowles argued that a monitored phone call from jail showed Chasing Horse admitting he had access to two antique pieces that were worth $500,000.
As part of his bail terms, he would have to have high-level electronic monitoring, no contract with any minors – including his own children – and no contact with firearms, according to Moore. He is also not allowed to use drugs or alcohol.
Chasing Horse is accused of being the leader of a cult called ‘The Circle,’ which would groom and rape young women and girls. He is accused of running the cult that sexually abused young indigenous girls at his Las Vegas home ? which he is said to share with five wives.
Wearing glasses and a blue prison-issued jumpsuit, Chasing Horse had his long hair scraped back as he remained handcuffed during the hearing.
Chasing Horse allegedly also trained his wives to use firearms, so they could ‘open fire’ on cops if they ever swooped on his property.
As part of his bail terms, he would have to have high-level electronic monitoring, no contract with any minors – including his own children – and no contact with firearms, according to Moore. He is also not allowed to use drugs or alcohol.
Wearing glasses and a blue prison-issued jumpsuit, Chasing Horse had his long hair scraped back as he remained handcuffed during the hearing.
During the raid at his property, police found memory cards with videos of the sexual assaults, firearms, 41 pounds of marijuana, and psilocybin mushrooms in the home.
At least two women told police that Chasing Horse had shown his wives a stash of ‘small white pills’ that he called ‘suicide pills’ sometime in 2019 or 2020, years before his arrest.
The women were instructed to ‘take a pill to kill themselves in the event he dies or law enforcement tries to break their family apart,’ according to the warrant.
One of Chasing Horse’s former wives also told police that she believed his current wives would ‘carry out the instructions’ to take the pills and open fire on law enforcement if officers came to the home to arrest him.
The Native American played Smiles a Lot in the 1990 Oscar-winning film, Dances With Wolves and was arrested as part of a months-long investigation.
He was banned by tribal leaders from the Fort Peck Reservation amid human trafficking allegations after gaining a reputation among tribes across the US and Canada.
Police have accused him of using his reputation ‘as a tool to sexually assault young girls on numerous occasions,’ according to an arrest warrant, which noted that his followers believed he could communicate with higher beings.
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.
Court documents show that one victim reported the actor in September 2018, saying the incident took place in British Columbia.
She claims that she reached out to him for medical advice, and he healed her family member and encouraged her to join ‘The Circle’.
Chasing Horse told her that she was ‘different and special’ before adopting her as his granddaughter in a ‘spiritual way’.
He showered her with lavish gifts, with three of his wives asking her to call them ‘grandma’ and recalls his fourth wife ? who was 15 at the time ? being presented to him in an offering ceremony.
One of his wives told investigators that he raped her when she was just nine years old, according to documents.
In 2015, another victim came forward to report an assault which took place in 2014, but the case was closed without detectives approaching him.
The detective explained in the report: ‘Because during the sexual incident [the victim] did not say no, push away, yell or run away, I found that I did not believe it could be prosecuted in court.’
His victim in that instance, said that she was told she should be ‘thankful’ that she was being assaulted by Chasing Horse.
Detectives also discovered that the actor had been accused of assaulting two children in Fort Peck, Montana, in 2005. He told authorities ‘we will see’ when asked to take a polygraph test before refusing to speak to the police. Ultimately, he was never charged.
Chasing Horse moved to North Las Vegas in 2012 and told another victim to come with him, to bring cash and gifts to him. He told her that she was ‘going to be of service’ and she would have to ‘offer her body to the spirits’ to save a family member.
The actor is also accused of forcing the victim to engage in sex acts with other men for several months ? as well as forcing several of his other wives into sex trafficking.
On January 23, North Las Vegas police were notified of a victim who reported she was a victim of sex trafficking while she lived with Chasing Horse as his wife in Clark County.
Las Vegas police were investigating the actor’s home in the north of the Nevada city for hours after he was taken into custody, searching the property.
Several SWAT officers were seen outside the two-story home as detectives carried out their search.
No resistance was reported by the police when they entered the property, or when they arrested the actor near his home.
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.
Las Vegas police have identified at least six alleged victims, with claims dating back to the early 2000s in multiple states ? including Montana, South Dakota and Nevada.
