LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The Nevada Supreme Court has ordered the dismissal of the Chasing Horse sex abuse case but leaves open possibility of charges to be refiled.
The “Dances with Wolves” actor Nathan Chasing Horse, 48, was accused of victimizing Indigenous underage girls and women for nearly two decades.
The full seven-member court’s decision, issued Thursday, reverses earlier rulings upholding the charges by a three-member panel of the high court and a state judge. Proceedings in the 18-count criminal case have been at a standstill for more than a year while the former “Dances with Wolves” actor challenged it.
Kristy Holston, the deputy public defender representing Chasing Horse, had argued that some evidence presented to the grand jury, including an improper definition of grooming that was presented without expert testimony, had tainted the state’s case. Holston said prosecutors also failed to provide the grand jury with exculpatory evidence, including inconsistent statements made by one of the victims.
The high court agreed.
“The combination of these two clear errors undermines our confidence in the grand jury proceedings and created intolerable damage to the independent function of the grand jury process,” the court said in its scathing order.
Holston declined to comment further. Prosecutor Stacy Kollins did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
The ruling directs the judge overseeing the case in Clark County District Court to dismiss the indictment without prejudice, meaning the charges can be refiled.
“The allegations against Chasing Horse are indisputably serious, and we express no opinion about Chasing Horse’s guilt or innocence,” the order says.
Chasing Horse’s lawyer had also argued that the case should be dismissed because, the former actor said, the sexual encounters were consensual. One of his accusers was younger than 16, the age of consent in Nevada, when the alleged abuse began, authorities said.
Chasing Horse has been in custody since his arrest last January near the North Las Vegas home he is said to have shared with five wives. He also faces criminal sexual abuse charges in at least four other jurisdictions, including U.S. District Court in Nevada and on the Fort Perk Indian Reservation in Montana.
Chasing Horse is best known for portraying Smiles A Lot in the 1990 film “Dances with Wolves.” But in the decades since starring in the Oscar-winning movie, authorities said, he built a reputation as self-proclaimed medicine man among tribes and traveled around North America to perform healing ceremonies.
He is accused of using that position to gain access to vulnerable girls and women starting in the early 2000s.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)
