A Nevada judge on Monday sentenced actor Nathan Chasing Horse, best known for his role in Kevin Costner’s Oscar-winning film “Dances With Wolves,” to life in prison with possibility of parole after he was convicted last month of sexually assaulting multiple Indigenous women and girls.
Chasing Horse, 49, continued to deny the charges and allegations against him during his sentencing. “This is a miscarriage of justice,” he said Monday.
A Nevada grand jury indicted the actor — who also appeared in “The Broken Chain” and “Into the West” — in February 2023, alleging he leveraged his position as a Lakota medicine man to prey on Indigenous women and girls whom he physically and sexually assaulted and took as underage wives. Nearly three years after the indictment and after an 11-day trial, a Nevada jury found him guilty of 13 of the 21 charges he faced — the bulk of which stemmed from his conduct with a girl who was 14 when Chasing Horse began assaulting her, according to the Associated Press. He was also acquitted of some sexual assault charges when the main victim was older and lived with him and his other companions, per AP.
Read more: ‘Dances With Wolves’ actor Nathan Chasing Horse indicted in Nevada sex abuse case
During the sentencing, Judge Jessica Peterson offered an optimistic message to those whom Chasing Horse abused, and those who supported them in court, noting “you can take back your power.”
“I’m not going to refer to you as victims. I’m not going to refer to you as survivors, because to do so puts you in a box and doesn’t allow you to do what you want to do,” Peterson said, “which is to take back your life so I’m going to refer to you as brave women and brave men.”
When addressing Chasing Horse, Peterson took on a stern tone and admonished the actor and his attorney, Craig Mueller, for denying the charges and downplaying evidence of assault.
“You preyed on these women’s trust and their spirituality and you manipulated them for your own personal gratification,” she told the actor. “This court is going to make sure you never have the opportunity to do that again.”
Read more: Nevada prosecutor: Chasing Horse ‘grooming’ girls to replace wives
When a Nevada prosecutor suggested at the beginning of Monday’s sentencing that Chasing Horse be sentenced to 37 years to life in prison, attorney Mueller expressed concern about the possibility of his client being released in his senior years. Mueller also called Chasing Horse’s accusers — a number of whom appeared in court to share final statements — “very unhappy young women.”
“I don’t understand this,” Mueller said of the suggested sentence.
Chasing Horse will be eligible for parole after 37 years.
As the Nevada case comes to a close, Chasing Horse faces pending criminal charges of sexual assault in Canada.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Get notified when the biggest stories in Hollywood, culture and entertainment go live. Sign up for L.A. Times entertainment alerts.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.