LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The victims of "Dances with Wolves" actor Nathan Chasing Horse will be back in court later this month, this time to see how long he will spend behind bars.
Sentencing was originally set for March 11, but has been delayed for weeks, first due to issues obtaining necessary documents, and then because the defense attorneys wanted the original guilty verdict vacated.
Defense attorney Craig Mueller argued in court that the victims had been bribed for their testimony during trial and were compensated $5,000.
However, the state clarified that the victims hadn't received $5,000, but that one victim had been approved that amount in reimbursement for any medical treatment she received as a result of being the victim of a crime. The second victim was still waiting for approval of the reimbursement.
With that clarified, the judge denied the defense's motion to vacate the guilty verdict, and sentencing was set for April 27, 2026, as that was when the victims were available.
Watch the full proceedings here:
This latest date for sentencing will come roughly three months after Chasing Horse was found guilty on more than a dozen sex crimes charges.
That 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.
Chasing Horse faces a minimum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
