US prosecutors dismiss sexual abuse charges against actor Nathan Chasing Horse

Warning: This story involves allegations of sexual assault.

Federal prosecutors in Nevada have quietly dismissed a long-dormant sexual abuse case against Nathan Chasing Horse Dances with wolves The actor is still being prosecuted elsewhere.

The federal case was dismissed on October 1, just as prosecutors completed dismissing their own indictment against Chasing Horse by order of the Nevada Supreme Court.

The back-to-back dismissals are a stunning development in a legal saga that began with Chasing Horse’s arrest by Las Vegas police and a raid on his home in January 2023 and led to an 18-count indictment by the state in Clark County District Court .

His arrest was quickly followed by additional criminal charges in four other jurisdictions in the United States and Canada. This also includes the now dismissed federal case in which he is accused of sexually exploiting minors and possessing material about child sexual abuse. These charges stemmed from the same allegations that led to his arrest.

Fees in Canada, Montana and Las Vegas

Chasing Horse is still being prosecuted in Canada, on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana and in Las Vegas.

He is best known for portraying the character “Smiles A Lot” in the 1990 film Dances with wolvesChasing Horse was born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, home to the Sicangu Sioux, one of the seven tribes of the Lakota Nation.

Federal prosecutors took no action in their case against Chasing Horse after filing charges in February 2023, court records show. They filed a motion to dismiss the case on Sept. 27 – a day after the Nevada Supreme Court ordered Chasing Horse’s charges in state court dismissed – but did not specify in court filings why they wanted to dismiss the case.

Both the state and federal cases were dismissed without prejudice, meaning prosecutors can refile the charges.

Federal prosecutor Steven Rose did not immediately respond to an email Monday asking whether the U.S. government planned to do so. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said his office will refile the charges – which included sexual assault of minors, kidnapping and child abuse – in state court.

Prosecutors file new case

Prosecutors filed a new case against Chasing Horse in Las Vegas on Friday, accusing him of filming himself having sex with one of his accusers when she was younger than 14.

He is being held in Las Vegas police custody on $200,000 bail.

In at least one video, the girl was “completely unconscious,” prosecutor William Rowles said in court on Monday.

Rowles said the footage, taken in 2010 or 2011, was found on cellphones in a locked safe at the North Las Vegas home that Chasing Horse allegedly shared with five wives, including the girl in the videos.

His defense attorney, Kristy Holston, declined to comment on the new case or the dismissal of the federal charges. Rowles also said he had no comment.

The Nevada Supreme Court sided with Chasing Horse in late September after his attorney successfully argued that a definition of grooming presented to the grand jury without expert testimony prejudiced the state’s case and that prosecutors had provided inconsistent testimony to the grand jury are said to have been made by one of the victims.

Chasing Horse’s case had been in limbo for more than a year while he appealed it.