‘Dances With Wolves’ Actor Is Sentenced to Life in Prison

Nathan Chasing Horse had been convicted of charges including the sexual assault of women and girls and the possession of child sexual abuse imagery.


Nathan Chasing Horse, in court in January. He had pleaded not guilty to all charges against him. John Locher/Associated Press

By Reggie Ugwu
April 28, 2026

Nathan Chasing Horse, a former actor who appeared in the Oscar-winning film “Dances With Wolves,” was sentenced to life in prison on Monday in Nevada on charges including the sexual assault of women and girls and the possession of child sexual abuse imagery.

Mr. Chasing Horse, 50, was arrested in January 2023 after the police raided his home in Las Vegas. According to a criminal complaint, officers recovered cellphones at the home that contained child sexual abuse imagery, including video recordings appearing to show Mr. Chasing Horse engaging in sexual intercourse with minors.

At his trial in January, three women testified that Mr. Chasing Horse had sexually assaulted them. The prosecutors said he had used his position as a respected spiritual leader and medical healer in the Native American community to take advantage of women and girls for nearly two decades. ... “This man spun a web of abuse, and these victims were caught in it,” Bianca Pucci, a deputy district attorney in Clark County, Nev., said at the trial.

Mr. Chasing Horse pleaded not guilty to all of the 21 charges against him, and maintained his innocence at the sentencing hearing on Monday. ... “I did not do these things, and this is a miscarriage of justice,” he said.

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Reggie Ugwu is a Times culture reporter.