A once-recognizable face from Oscar-winning cinema who positioned himself as a respected spiritual leader across Indigenous communities in North America has been handed a mandatory minimum 37-year prison term following his conviction on a litany of sexual assault charges. Nathan Chasing Horse, 49, who earned public recognition for his 1990 role as a young Sioux tribe member in *Dances With Wolves*, was found guilty of 13 out of 21 total charges brought against him, with the majority of convictions tied to repeated assaults of three victims—one of whom was just 14 years old when the abuse began.
Beyond his small but notable Hollywood career, Chasing Horse built a widespread reputation as a medicine man among Indigenous tribes spanning both the United States and Canada. Prosecutors and survivors revealed during the trial that he deliberately exploited the trust and vulnerability of community members who turned to him for spiritual guidance and healing, weaving a pattern of abuse that stretched across nearly two decades.
In a harrowing public statement following the verdict, victim Corena Leone-LaCroix—who was 14 when Chasing Horse first targeted her—spoke of the irreversible damage inflicted by the abuse. “There is no way to get back the youth, the childhood loss, my first time, my first kiss, the graduation I never got to have,” she told the court. “The life that little girl could have lived has been taken from me forever,” she added, per reporting from the Associated Press, which confirmed she chose to go public with her allegations to encourage other survivors to come forward.
Prior to issuing the sentence, District Court Judge Jessica Peterson directly addressed Chasing Horse, condemning his calculated exploitation of vulnerable people seeking spiritual support. “You preyed on women’s spirituality,” Peterson said, adding that he “manipulated them for your own personal gratification.”
Prosecutors laid out disturbing details of Chasing Horse’s manipulative tactics during the trial. Deputy District Attorney Bianca Pucci told the jury that the former actor had built an elaborate “web of abuse” over 20 years. In one particularly chilling example, Pucci explained that Chasing Horse told the underage Leone-LaCroix that spirits demanded she surrender her virginity to him in order to save her mother, who was suffering from cancer at the time.
Chasing Horse has consistently denied all allegations against him. Under the terms of his sentence, he will not be eligible for parole consideration until he has completed the full 37-year prison term. For anyone affected by the sexual abuse issues raised in this case, support and resources are available through the BBC ActionLine service.