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Actor Nathan Chasing Horse Faces Trial in Las Vegas on 21 Sexual Abuse Charges
Nathan Chasing Horse faces 21 charges including sexual assault and kidnapping after allegedly exploiting his status as a Lakota medicine man to abuse Indigenous women and girls.
On Tuesday, the jury trial for Nathan Chasing Horse begins in Las Vegas, where he has pleaded not guilty to 21 charges including sexual assault and use of a minor in producing pornography.
Prosecutors say he proclaimed himself a Lakota medicine man who led The Circle and exploited followers seeking healing over two decades.
Evidence includes recordings found in a locked safe at his North Las Vegas home shared with five wives; prosecutors say recordings from 2010 or 2011 were on cellphones there.
The trial timeline and witness list sharpen immediate stakes as prosecutors plan to call 18 witnesses during the expected four-week trial, while Judge Jessica Peterson removed Chasing Horse for interrupting her after he tried to fire his private defense attorney.
Legal setbacks include a Nevada Supreme Court dismissal that preserved refiling after finding grand-jury errors in the early 2023 arrest and indictment, which sent shock waves across Indian Country.