LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Nevada jury on Friday convicted “Dances With Wolves” actor Nathan Chasing Horse of sexually assaulting Indian women and girls in a case that shocked throughout Indian Country.

Las Vegas jurors found Chasing Horse guilty of 13 of the 21 charges he faced. Most of the guilty verdicts focused on Chasing Horse’s conduct with a victim who was 14 when he began assaulting her. He was acquitted of some sexual assault charges when the main victim was older and described as a wife. His sentencing is scheduled for March 11.

The verdict marked the climax of a years-long effort to prosecute Chasing Horse after he was first arrested and charged in 2023. Prosecutors said Chasing Horse used his reputation as a Lakota medicine man to prey on indigenous women and girls.

As the verdict was read, Chasing Horse remained silent. The victims and their supporters cried and hugged each other in the hallway while wearing yellow ribbons.

William Rowles, Clark County’s chief deputy prosecutor, thanked the women who had accused Chasing Horse of assault for testifying.

“I just hope that the people who have come forward over the years and made complaints against Nathan Chasing Horse can find some peace in this,” he said.

Nathan Chasing Horse, center, speaks with attorneys as he appears in court for his trial on charges of sexually abusing Indigenous women and girls Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Nathan Chasing Horse, center, speaks with attorneys as he appears in court for his trial on charges of sexually abusing Indigenous women and girls Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

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Defense attorney Craig Mueller said he will file a motion for a new trial and told The News he was confused and disappointed by the jury’s verdict. He said he had some “significant doubts about the sincerity of the allegations.”

“Dances With Wolves” was one of the most notable films starring Native American actors when it was released in 1990. After Chasing Horse appeared in the Oscar-winning film, it traveled across North America and performed healing ceremonies.

Her trial came as authorities have become more responsive in recent years to an epidemic of violence against Native women.

During the three-week trial, jurors heard from three women who said Chasing Horse sexually assaulted them, some of whom were minors at the time. The jury returned guilty verdicts on some charges related to all three.

Deputy District Attorney Bianca Pucci said in her closing statements Wednesday that for nearly 20 years, Chasing Horse “spun a web of abuse” that ensnared many women.

Mueller said in his closing statements that there was no evidence, including eyewitnesses. He questioned the credibility of the main accuser, describing her as a “despised woman.”

Prosecutors said sexual assault cases rarely have eyewitnesses and often occur behind closed doors.

The main accuser was 14 years old in 2012 when Chasing Horse allegedly told her that spirits wanted her to give up her virginity to save her mother, who was diagnosed with cancer. He then sexually assaulted her and told her that if she told anyone, her mother would die, Pucci said during opening statements.