Actor Nathan Lee, also known as Nathan Chasing Horse, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to state charges he sexually abused indigenous women and girls for a decade in Nevada.
A grand jury in Nevada indicted Nathan Chasing Horse last month on 19 counts, expanding on previous charges of sexual assault, trafficking and child abuse to include kidnapping, lewdness and drug trafficking.
The accused appeared briefly in Clark County District Court after being jailed in Las Vegas on $300,000 bond since his arrest Jan. 31 near the home in North Las Vegas he jointly shared with five women he variously described as his wives, as Breitbart News reported.
Authorities describe Chasing Horse as the leader of a cult known as The Circle who took underage wives. They allege at the time of his arrest he was grooming young girls to replace his older wives.
Supporters of Nathan Chasing Horse are seated in a court room in North Las Vegas, Nev., Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. Bail has been set at $300,000 for the former “Dances With Wolves” actor charged in Nevada with sexually abusing and trafficking Indigenous women and girls. (AP Photo/Ty O’Neil)
Born on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, Chasing Horse is widely known for his role as Smiles a Lot in Kevin Costner’s 1990 Oscar-winning film Dances With Wolves.
Criminal cases against Chasing Horse are mounting, and he now faces charges in four jurisdictions — in state court in Las Vegas, in U.S. District Court in Nevada, in British Columbia and on the Fort Peck Reservation in north-eastern Montana.
In this handout photo provided by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse from “Dances With Wolves” is seen in a police booking photo after his arrest on charges for sexual assault of a child less than 16, sexual assault (2 counts), sex trafficking of an adult (2 counts) and child abuse/neglection on February 1, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department via Getty)
Inside Chasing Horse’s home, AP reports court documents say detectives found firearms, psilocybin mushrooms, 41 pounds of marijuana and two cell phones containing videos and photos of underage girls being sexually assaulted.
The footage led to federal child pornography charges.