'Stuck in the web': opening statements given in child sex abuse trial of Nathan Chasing Horse

Описание: (20 Jan 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

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POOL
Las Vegas - 20 January 2026
1. Close up of Nathan Chasing Horse
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2. SOUNDBITE (English) Bianca Pucci, Prosecutor:
“Life for a life. Your body is no longer yours. It's this or your mom dies. Those are the words of Nathan Chasing Horse.”
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3. SOUNDBITE (English) Bianca Pucci, Prosecutor:
“From 2003 through 2020, Nathan Chasing Horse spun a web of abuse. Caught many girls in that web. And after all of the evidence is presented, that we will establish the defendant, Nathan Chasing Horse, guilty of all 21 counts”
4. Nathan Chasing Horse in court
5. Defendant Plaque
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Craig Mueller, Nathan Chasing Horse's attorney:
“Now a lot of these statements were carefully calculated to inflame your passions, to make you think Nathan Chasing Horse is a monster and he deserves to go to prison.”
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7. SOUNDBITE (English) Craig Mueller, Nathan Chasing Horse's attorney:
“This is a criminal case. It's based on evidence. And there's quite literally no evidence. You'll hear no DNA, you'll hear no eyewitnesses, you will hear no physical examinations, you'll hear nobody came in and found them naked together. You're gonna find no evidence at all."
8. Nathan Chasing Horse in court room
STORYLINE:
Opening statements began on Tuesday in the trial for Nathan Chasing Horse, the “Dances with Wolves” actor accused of sexually abusing Indigenous women and girls.

Prosecutors allege he used his reputation as a spiritual leader and healer to take advantage of his victims over two decades. Chasing Horse, who was present in the courtroom Tuesday, has pleaded not guilty to 21 charges, including sexual assault, sexual assault with a minor, first degree kidnapping of a minor and the use of a minor in producing pornography.

The case sent shock waves across Indian Country when he was arrested and indicted in early 2023. After several delays, the case finally proceeded to trial after prosecutors added allegations that Chasing Horse filmed himself sexually abusing a girl younger than 14.

Best known for portraying the character Smiles A Lot in the 1990 movie “Dances with Wolves,” Chasing Horse was born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, which is home to the Sicangu Sioux, one of the seven tribes of the Lakota nation.

After starring in the Oscar-winning film, according to prosecutors, Chasing Horse proclaimed himself to be a Lakota medicine man while traveling around North America to perform healing ceremonies.

Prosecutors say he led a cult called The Circle, and his followers believed he could speak with spirits. His victims went to him for medical help, according to a court transcript from a grand jury hearing.

One victim was 14 years old when she approached him, hoping he would heal her mother, who was diagnosed with cancer. Chasing Horse previously had treated the victim’s breathing issues and her mother’s spider bite, according to a court transcript. He allegedly told her the spirits wanted her to give up her virginity in exchange for her mother’s health. He allegedly sexually abused her and said her mother would die if she told anyone, according to the victim’s testimony to the grand jury.

The original indictment was dismissed in 2024 after the Nevada Supreme Court ruled prosecutors abused the grand jury process when they provided a definition of grooming as evidence without any expert testimony.







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