LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Nearly three months after the guilty verdict was first read, Nathan Chasing Horse returned to court to face sentencing on Monday.
Judge Jessica Peterson ordered the maximum sentence in the case: 37 years to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after a minimum of 25 years. Chasing Horse will receive credit for 1,184 days served in jail since his arrest.
The "Dances with Wolves" actor faces a minimum sentence of 25 years to life in prison for the more than a dozen sex crimes charges he was found guilty of in January.
The verdict came after nearly nine hours of deliberation over two days in the trial nearly three years in the making.
Chasing Horse was arrested in early 2023 on charges of sex trafficking, sexual assault of a child, and child abuse.
Police described Chasing Horse as the leader of a cult known as "The Circle" whose followers believed he could commune with spirits. He built a reputation for himself among Native tribes across the U.S. and Canada as a "Medicine Man" who could perform healing ceremonies.
Police say he abused that position to physically and sexually assault Indigenous girls over the span of approximately two decades.
The crimes, police said, span multiple states, including South Dakota, Montana and Nevada, where he has lived for about a decade.
During the trial, jurors heard from nearly 20 prosecution witnesses, including women Chasing Horse is accused of abusing.
"For almost 20 years, this man spun a web of abuse — and these victims were caught in it," a prosecutor said.
