By Adegboyega Adeleye

A Nevada judge has sentenced American actor Nathan Chasing Horse, best known for his role in Kevin Costner’s Oscar-winning film “Dances With Wolves,” to life in prison with the possibility of parole after he was convicted last month of sexually assaulting multiple indigenous women and girls.

The 49-year-old was convicted of 13 of 21 charges he faced in January following an 11-day trial. He was arrested by a SWAT team in 2023 and was booked in the Clark County jail for child abuse or neglect, sex assault, sex assault against a child and sex trafficking of an adult.

Chasing Horse was known as a medicine man among indigenous tribes across the United States and Canada, as victims and their families said he used his position as a spiritual leader to exploit visitors.

According to the Associated Press, Corena Leone-LaCroix, a victim who was 14 at the time of the abuse, said: “There is no way to get back the youth, the childhood loss, my first time, my first kiss, the graduation I never got to have. The life that little girl could have lived has been taken from me forever”.

Deputy District Attorney Bianca Pucci told the jury that for almost 20 years, Chasing Horse “spun a web of abuse” that ensnared many women.

She said he told Leone-LaCroix that spirits wanted her to give up her virginity to save her mother, who had cancer.

Victims and their family members testified that they struggle with their faith as a result of Chasing Horse’s actions. The mothers of the victims said he betrayed their trust and abused sacred traditions.

Before the sentence was served, the jury heard testimonies from three women who said Chasing Horse sexually assaulted them. He will be eligible for parole after serving 37 years.