CultNEWS101 Articles: 2/4/2026
Patrick Ryan
"A jury on Friday convicted “Dances with Wolves” actor Nathan Chasing Horse in a sexual assault trial in which he was accused of targeting fellow Native Americans.
Prosecutors had charged Chasing Horse, 49, with 21 counts, including sexual assault with a minor under 16, sexual assault, first-degree kidnapping of a minor, open and gross lewdness and use of a minor under 14 in producing pornography.
Chasing Horse, who played Smiles a Lot in the 1990 movie, promoted himself as a “medicine man” and committed crimes in the U.S. and Canada while running The Circle, a cult with up to 350 followers at its height, according to authorities.
Jurors returned a split verdict, finding Chasing Horse guilty of 13 counts and not guilty of eight others.
The jury found him guilty of multiple counts of sexual assault of a minor under 16, a count of open and gross lewdness, a count of sexual assault and a child pornography count. But they returned a not guilty verdict for other child pornography and sexual assault counts as well as a count of kidnapping of a minor.
Multiple alleged victims testified during the trial, telling jurors that Chasing Horse used their spiritual traditions to victimize them.
The jury returned a guilty verdict on at least one count for each of the three victims who were the basis for the charges he faced.
Corena Leone-LaCroix, who eventually became one of Chasing Horse’s multiple wives, said she saw him as a safe figure and felt honored when he adopted her as his granddaughter. She never questioned him or thought she could say no to him, she said."
"A South Korean court has sentenced former First Lady Kim Keon Hee to one year and eight months in prison after finding her guilty of accepting bribes from the Unification Church, according to South Korea’s official Yonhap news agency.
The Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday cleared Kim, the wife of disgraced ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol, of additional charges of stock price manipulation and violating the political funds act
Kim was accused of receiving bribes and lavish gifts from businesses and politicians, as well as the Unification Church, totalling at least $200,000.
The prosecution team had also indicted Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja, now on trial, after the religious group was suspected of giving Kim valuables, including two Chanel handbags and a diamond necklace, as part of its efforts to win influence with the president’s wife."
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