LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The Nevada Supreme Court denied a petition filed by accused sexual predator Nathan Chasing Horse.

He will still be charged with 18 counts related to the alleged sexual abuse against two women in Clark County.

The “Dances with Wolves” actor had made an effort to get the charges against him dropped by filing a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Oral arguments were heard on Nov. 15.

In an order dated Dec. 14, Justices Patricia Lee and Ron Parraguirre stated “We are not satisfied that petitioner has demonstrated that entertaining the writ is warranted, and without deciding upon the merits of the claims raised in the petition, we decline to exercise our original jurisdiction.”

Justice Douglas Herndon dissented. Chasing Horse has been accused of victimizing indigenous underage girls and women for nearly two decades. He claimed that he was a spiritual leader and “Medicine Man.”

Chasing Horse was arrested at his home in North Las Vegas in January where he lived with several women he called wives. One of the alleged victims, Ren Leone, formerly Corena Chasing Horse, said that sexual abuse began when she was underage.

In his appeal, Chasing Horse argued that an alleged 14-year-old victim did not testify that she said “no” to a sexual encounter.

In the 38-page document, Clark County Public Defender Kristy Holston argued that prosecutors failed to present evidence that both women did not consent to sexual encounters.

In an exclusive interview with NewsNation affiliate KLAS, Leone said that she was seeking help from the self-proclaimed “Medicine Man” to help heal her mother who had cancer.

“What happened there was rape and there’s no other label to put on it,” Leone, now 25, said during the interview. “He is a narcissist, and he knowingly does what he does and he doesn’t have any remorse for it. What he did, he knows what he did.”

At the age of 16, Leone said that Chasing Horse asked her mother if she could be his wife. Her mother told the 8 News Now Investigators that as a follower of Chasing Horse and a member of his alleged cult known as “The Circle” at the time, she thought his request was an honor.

Holston wrote in the appeal that prosecutors presented no evidence that Chasing Horse threatened either of the women, “but rather, that Nathan’s spiritual influence created ongoing and vague concerns that spirits cause intangible harm to those who defy Nathan’s interpretation of the spirits’ demands.

In other words, the state presented evidence that Nathan used grooming techniques to cause the girls to have vague concerns of negative spiritual consequences, and made promises of spiritual help, to obtain consent for sex.

Holston had argued for all of the charges to be dismissed in Clark County District Court and previously made the same argument that there was a lack of evidence about non-consent on April 5.

As also previously argued in district court, Holston wrote in the appeal that prosecutors provided the grand jury with information about “grooming,” but that “‘grooming’ is not an element of the charged crimes.”

“The inclusion of this illegal evidence, by itself, was so inappropriate and prejudicial as to require Counts 1-18 be dismissed,” Holston wrote.

On Feb. 22, a grand jury indicted Chasing Horse for a total of 19 counts. This included 10 counts of sexual assault against a minor under the age of 16, six counts of sexual assault, along with open and gross lewdness, first-degree kidnapping of a minor, and trafficking in a controlled substance.

On April 7, Clark County District Court Judge Carli Kierny dismissed the drug charge. While Las Vegas Metro Police reported seizing a significant amount of magic mushrooms, Kierny wrote in a six-page order that there was no testimony at all about who lived in the home.

“Nor was there any evidence connecting the defendant to the mushrooms, as opposed to another person who resided in that home,” Kierny wrote. “For that reason, Count 19 is hereby dismissed.

Chasing Horse also faces federal charges along with warrants in Fort Peck, Montana, and Canada. He was previously banned from several native reservations.

Chasing Horse’s defense team previously sent the 8 News Now Investigators the following statement:

“There is a lot more to these events than has been presented thus far by the State of Nevada. It is not clear yet whether the State has the bare minimum amount of evidence to warrant even bringing Mr. Chasing Horse to trial. Regardless, Mr. Chasing Horse has pled not guilty to these charges, and looks forward to demonstrating that these allegations are false.”

Chasing Horse remains in the Clark County Detention Center in downtown Las Vegas. His bail remains at $300,000. He is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 8.

For anyone who may be a victim of sexual assault, help is available through the National Sexual Assault Hotline: 800-656-HOPE.

To reach investigative reporter Vanessa Murphy, email vmurphy@8newsnow.com.