Las Vegas: A former Dances With Wolves actor accused of leading a cult could be facing serious charges and life in prison after police said he sexually assaulted young Indigenous girls and took several wives over two decades, court records show.

As of Wednesday, Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse, who goes by Nathan Chasing Horse, will be charged with at least two counts of sex-trafficking and one count each of sexual assault of a child younger than 16, child abuse or neglect and sexual assault, according to the records. Authorities have not said when he will be formally charged.

If convicted on the two counts of sex trafficking, he could be sentenced to 20 years in prison, and he could get life behind bars for a conviction on either of the sexual assault charges.

Las Vegas police took Chasing Horse into custody on Tuesday afternoon as he left the North Las Vegas home that, according to the warrant, he shares with his five wives. He was booked before midnight into Clark County’s jail, where he remained held without bail on the sexual assault charges on Wednesday morning.

Three women were seen detained outside Chasing Horse’s home on Tuesday evening as detectives searched the property, but police have not released details of any potential charges against them or their relationship to Chasing Horse.

Known for his role as the young Sioux tribe member Smiles a Lot in the Oscar-winning Kevin Costner film, Chasing Horse gained a reputation among tribes across the United States and in Canada as a so-called medicine man who performed healing ceremonies and, police allege, used his position to abuse young Native American girls.

His arrest was the culmination of a months long investigation that began after the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department received a tip in October 2022.

And it comes as state attorneys general and politicians around the US are looking into creating specialised units to handle cases involving Native American women.