LAS VEGAS, NEVADA — A Nevada judge sentenced former actor and spiritual leader Nathan Chasing Horse to life in prison Monday for sexually assaulting Indigenous women and girls. He will be eligible for parole after serving 37 years.

A jury previously convicted Chasing Horse of 13 charges, mostly related to sexual assault, and acquitted him on some charges. He was accused by three women, including one who was 14 when the assaults began. The jury returned guilty verdicts on some charges related to all three accusers.

"You preyed on these women's trusts and their spirituality, and you manipulated them for your own personal gratification," Judge Jessica Peterson said before announcing the sentence. Chasing Horse, wearing his navy blue Clark County Detention Center uniform, stared straight ahead as victims read their statements.

Accusers and their families told Peterson they continue to suffer trauma and struggle with their faith after he exploited his position as a spiritual leader. The mothers of the victims said Chasing Horse betrayed their trust and abused sacred traditions. "Even to this day I struggle to regain my faith and spirituality," a victim's mother said.

One victim said she still faces complications after suffering an ectopic pregnancy as a result of the assault and being forced to undergo surgery. "I am choosing to see this moment as a fresh start. I will rebuild my life, reclaim my voice and continue fighting for the future I deserve," one victim said.

Chasing Horse denied the charges. His attorney, Craig Mueller, called the main accuser a "scorned woman" while questioning her credibility. Mueller filed a motion for a new trial arguing that a witness was not qualified to talk about grooming and that the statute of limitations had expired. The motion was denied.

During the trial, Nevada prosecutors said Chasing Horse used his reputation as a Lakota medicine man to prey on Indigenous women and girls. Deputy District Attorney Bianca Pucci told the jury that for almost 20 years, Chasing Horse "spun a web of abuse" that ensnared many women.

Pucci said Corena Leone-LaCroix was 14 in 2012 when Chasing Horse told her the spirits wanted her to give up her virginity to save her mother, then sexually assaulted her and told her that if she told anyone, her mother would die. "The sexual assaults continued for years," Pucci said.

Chasing Horse was born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, home to the Sicangu Sioux of the Lakota nation, and appeared as the young Sioux tribe member Smiles a Lot in the film "Dances With Wolves." After that role, he traveled across Indian Country to attend powwows and perform healing ceremonies.

The sentencing follows a yearslong effort to prosecute the former actor after he was first arrested and indicted in 2023. Law enforcement in other U.S. states and in Canada followed up with additional criminal charges, which are still pending. The British Columbia Prosecution Service said Chasing Horse was charged with sexual assault in February 2023 in connection with an alleged offense in September 2018 near Keremeos, British Columbia. A warrant against Chasing Horse remains outstanding in Alberta, the Tsuut'ina Nation Police Service said in a statement following his conviction in January.