NORTH LAS VEGAS.- A judge set $300,000 bond on February 8 for a actor of the movie Dances With Wolves (Dance with wolves) accused in Nevada of sexually abusing and trafficking indigenous women and minors.
North Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Craig Newman said Nathan Chasing Horse must stay with a family member if he is released after posting bail. The 46-year-old actor, who played Smiles a Lot, a young Sioux tribesman in Kevin Costner’s 1990 Oscar-winning film, will be electronically monitored and should not have access to drugs, alcohol or weapons, he said Newman. He is also not allowed to contact the alleged victims or minors.
Under Nevada law, Chasing Horse must pay 15% of the $45,000 bail amount to secure his release. His supporters declined to speak to reporters as they left court after a brief hearing.
A prosecutor had requested $2 million in bail, describing Chasing Horse as a danger to the community and a flight risk. Clark County Public Defender Kristy Holston asked the judge to set bail at $50,000.
According to authorities, Chasing Horse spent decades building a reputation among tribes in the United States and Canada as a so-called doctor. The authorities accuse him of abusing that position to physically and sexually abuse women and minors, as well as to have minor wives.
He was evicted from the Fort Peck Reservation in Poplar, Montana, in 2015 on similar charges, and authorities in British Columbia, Canada, charged Chasing Horse this week with an alleged 2018 sexual assault.
In Nevada, Chasing Horse has been charged with eight felonies, including sex trafficking, sexual assault and child molestation. He has not entered a guilty plea.
After Wednesday’s hearing, Holston told The Associated Press that she was pleased with the order.
Holston declined to comment on the allegations, but said he looks forward to Chasing Horse’s next court hearing, scheduled for February 22. At that hearing, a judge is expected to hear evidence in the case and decide whether Chasing Horse will stand trial.
“We really look forward to that preliminary hearing on this case,” he said, “because it is another public hearing where we will have an opportunity to point out the weaknesses in the case brought by the state.”
Clark County Senior Assistant District Attorney William Rowles gestured to Chasing Horse supporters in court, saying the former actor has a vast network of relationships in Las Vegas, Canada and Mexico.
Rowles said police found evidence at Chasing Horse’s home last week that indicated he was in the process of luring other girls to replace the grown ones to be his wives. Rowles declined to comment after the judge issued the bail amount.
Relatives and supporters of Chasing Horse packed the courtroom Wednesday, as they have at previous hearings since he was arrested Jan. 31 at the North Las Vegas home he shares with five women he identifies as his wives. .
In a 50-page warrant and a 53-page arrest report, Las Vegas police described Chasing Horse as the leader of a cult called The Circle, whose followers believe he communicates with higher powers.
Police said they have identified at least six victims, including one who was 13 when she confessed to being abused and another who said she was offered to Chasing Horse as a gift when she was 15.
Police SWAT officers detained Chasing Horse last week, and detectives who searched the family’s home said they found weapons, 41 pounds of marijuana, psilocybin mushrooms and cellphone videos depicting sexual abuse against minors, according to the arrest report.
Chasing Horse also uses the name Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse. He was born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota where the Sicangu Sioux live, one of the seven tribes of the Lakota nation.
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FUENTE: AP