Actor Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse, also known as Nathan Chasing Horse, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of sexually assaulting young girls. He was taken into custody in the afternoon near the North Las Vegas home he is said to share with his five wives.
SWAT officers were seen outside the two-story residence later in the evening as detectives searched the property, AP reports.
He allegedly committed the offences across a period spanning two decades, according to police records.
Known for his role as the young Sioux tribe member Smiles a Lot in the Oscar-winning Kevin Costner film Dances with Wolves, the AP report sets out Chasing Horse gained a reputation among tribes across the U.S. and in Canada as a so-called medicine man.
Las Vegas police work near the home of former actor Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse, who goes by Nathan Chasing Horse, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023, in North Las Vegas, Nev. Authorities raided the home of the former actor Tuesday in connection with a sexual assault investigation. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Witnesses attest he performed healing ceremonies and spiritual gatherings and, police allege, used his position to abuse young girls.
His arrest is reportedly the culmination of a months-long investigation that began after police received an initial tip in October 2022.
According to a 50-page search warrant obtained by AP, Chasing Horse is believed to be the leader of a cult known as The Circle.
According to the warrant as seen by the outlet, the accused was banished in 2015 from the Fort Peck Reservation in Poplar, Montana, amid allegations of human trafficking.
File/Circa 1992/Seventeen-year-old Lakota actor Nathan Chasing His Horse, who starred as Smiles A Lot in ‘Dances With Wolves’. (Etienne Carjat/MPI/Getty Images)
“Nathan Chasing Horse used spiritual traditions and their belief system as a tool to sexually assault young girls on numerous occasions,” the warrant reads, adding the actor’s followers believed he could communicate with higher beings and referred to him as “Medicine Man” or “Holy Person.”
Some of his alleged victims are reported to have been as young as 13. One of his wives was allegedly offered to him as a “gift” when she was 15, while another became a wife after turning 16.
Chasing Horse also is accused of recording sexual assaults and arranging sex with the victims for other men who allegedly paid him.