The Nevada Supreme Court ruled against Nathan Chasing Horse

Published on: December 15, 2023 at 09:20 pm.

Last updated on: December 15, 2023 at 10:09 pm.

Former cult leader Nathan Chasing Horse failed to have charges against him dismissed by the Nevada Supreme Court, according to a ruling released this week.

Lawyers tried to ask the state Supreme Court to dismiss pending charges related to alleged improper sexual relations and related crimes.

Two of the three judges revealed that they did not believe they had jurisdiction in the case. They chose not to rule on the merits.

“We are not persuaded that the petitioner has demonstrated that admission of the order is justified,” Judges Patricia Lee and Ron DeBaragere said in a two-page ruling.

However, Judge Douglas Herndon dissented and wanted to consider the merits of the case.

Lawyers for Chasing Horse said the case against their client should have been dismissed. They claimed the 8th District Court made errors.

The legal team claimed the sex was consensual, evidence was improperly collected, and grand jury members did not receive proper instructions before returning the indictment.

The case will now return to a lower court in Nevada for a criminal trial. He remains in the Clark County Detention Center as of Friday. Bail was set at $300,000.

Facing 18 charges

In all, Chasing Horse, 47, faces 18 felonies in Nevada. He was charged with six counts of sexual assault, 10 counts of sexual assault of a minor, kidnapping a minor, and lewdness. These allegations stem from incidents that occurred between 2014 and 2020.

There are also charges or charges pending against him in Nevada federal court, as well as from courts in Montana and Canada. They relate to the alleged exploitation of female victims, underage sex, pornography, and other charges.

The victims were indigenous women and teenagers, according to authorities.

One of Chasing Horse’s victims claims that Chasing Horse promised her he would cure her mother, who was suffering from cancer. He allegedly began abusing her when she was 14 years old.

Cult following

Many in the sect known as the Circle viewed the horse chaser as a tribal healer.

On January 31, authorities raided the residence in North Las Vegas, Nevada, where Chasing Horse was living with several wives, police said. He was arrested and booked.

Chasing Horse portrayed the character Smiles a Lot in the 1990 Kevin Costner film Dances With Wolves.

An online petition seeks to send him to prison and demands that authorities never release him on bail. As of Friday, 1,602 people had put their names on the list Change.org petition.

“Nathan Chasing Horse, the leader of the Lakota sect, abused and manipulated his way to where he is. He deserves to be imprisoned for the crimes he committed due to the violent nature of his intentions and continued threat to the community,” the petition states.