The Tsuut’ina Nation Police Service said it is anticipating more victims to come forward in relation to an investigation into Nathan Chasing Horse.
Chasing Horse, a former Dances with Wolves actor, was charged and arrested in February in suspicion of running a cult and sexually assaulting a multitude of young Indigenous girls over the last two decades.
The investigation spanned multiple provinces and U.S. states, including British Columbia, Alberta, Montana and Nevada. The investigation has been ongoing for several years and one alleged offence dated back to 2005, the Tsuut’ina Nation Police Service said.
The actor has been in jail in Las Vegas since his arrest in January in southern Nevada, where he is charged with 18 felonies, including sexual assault of a minor, child abuse and kidnapping.
He is also accused of recording sexual assaults and arranging sex with the victims for other men who paid him.
Chasing Horse appeared in court in Nevada on Wednesday and has filed an appeal with the Nevada Supreme Court, according to Tsuut’ina Nation Police Service Sergeant Nancy Farmer.
In a news conference on Wednesday, Farmer said she doesn’t know if Chasing Horse will return to Canada to face his charges but it’s important for the victims to know they are being heard.
“The system in the U.S. in terms of time spent in carceration the duration are much longer than we see up here,” she said. “Extradition is something we can look at … If the Crown feels like it needs to do that, the justice minister and the attorney general’s office will ultimately make that decision.”
Farmer did not specify how many victims there were but said the Tsuut’ina Nation Police Service is supporting them throughout the investigation.
The police will continue to speak with victims and corroborate their story as part of the investigation, she said.
“Nobody deserves to be sexually assaulted. I do not care what the excuse or reason is,” she told reporters. “Nobody deserves to be victimized, and that’s man, woman, child.”
–with files from The Canadian Press.