Three South Carolina businessmen, including the former fiancé of Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, have been criminally charged in connection with an alleged sexual assault that the congresswoman publicly exposed during a dramatic speech on the House floor last year.
The charges, announced Wednesday by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, follow an investigation into allegations involving an incapacitated young woman and an incident dating back to October 2018.
Mace’s former fiancé, 53-year-old Patrick Bryant, was charged with voyeurism. His business associate, 46-year-old Eric Bernard Bowman, faces charges of voyeurism, obstruction of justice and unlawfully publishing the identity of an alleged sexual assault victim.
A third man, 46-year-old John Douglas Osborne, faces the most serious accusations, including first-degree assault and battery and two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.
The arrests represent a major development in a controversy that erupted nationally in February 2025, when Mace used a nearly hourlong congressional speech to accuse several men of engaging in sexual exploitation and other misconduct involving women.
At the time, the South Carolina Republican claimed she had discovered disturbing photographs and videos while examining Bryant’s cellphone in November 2023.
Mace alleged that the material revealed a pattern of sexual exploitation involving women who had not consented to being photographed, recorded or subjected to sexual acts.
She also accused the men of treating the alleged misconduct as entertainment and preserving recordings of their activities.
The accusations generated national attention, but the individuals named by Mace disputed the allegations, and the controversy led to legal battles over her statements.
Now, more than a year and a half after her congressional speech, state investigators have brought criminal charges against three of the men she identified.
According to sworn statements from South Carolina investigators, the alleged assault occurred during the early morning hours of October 26, 2018, at a residence on Sullivan’s Island, near Charleston.
Authorities say the victim, who was 23 years old at the time, had consumed enough alcohol that she was unable to walk normally or communicate coherently.
Investigators allege that the woman fell into a swimming pool before eventually making her way to a couch inside the residence, where she covered herself and lost consciousness.
While she was incapacitated, the three men allegedly discussed sexual activity involving the woman.
According to the arrest affidavits, Osborne then allegedly assaulted her while Bryant and Bowman watched.
Investigators further allege that Bryant and Bowman photographed and recorded portions of the incident.
The woman was unable to consent because of her extreme intoxication, according to the sworn statements.
The alleged incident was reportedly captured by a home security system, creating evidence that later became important to the investigation.
Authorities say another woman who happened to be watching the security footage witnessed what occurred.
That witness allegedly preserved two images from the video feed and documented her observations in a written journal entry.
The photographs and written account became part of the evidence examined by investigators.
Osborne is accused of committing sexual acts against the woman while knowing, or having reason to know, that she was physically helpless and unable to consent.
His charges include two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of first-degree assault and battery.
Bryant and Bowman are accused of participating by observing and documenting the alleged assault.
Bowman faces additional allegations involving his conduct after investigators began examining the case.
According to authorities, investigators executed a search warrant at Bowman’s Sullivan’s Island residence in March 2025 while seeking electronic devices that could contain evidence.
Several phones were recovered, but investigators say a particular device they wanted to examine was not initially provided.
Bowman subsequently turned over a cellphone through arrangements involving his legal representation.
However, investigators allege that the device had been reset to factory settings shortly before it was surrendered.
Authorities say the reset erased information that could have been relevant to the investigation.
The alleged destruction of electronic evidence resulted in an obstruction of justice charge against Bowman.
Investigators also accused him of publicly identifying the alleged victim on social media.
According to the charges, Bowman posted information on X that included the woman’s name and a video in which she could be identified.
South Carolina law provides protections for the identities of sexual assault victims, and the alleged disclosure resulted in an additional criminal charge.
All three men were taken into custody Wednesday morning and booked into the Charleston County detention center.
The criminal proceedings will be handled by prosecutors in South Carolina’s Ninth Judicial Circuit.
The arrests follow a lengthy period of public controversy surrounding Mace’s accusations and the response of state authorities.
During her February 2025 speech, Mace criticized what she described as failures to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct involving influential individuals.
She accused law enforcement officials of failing to take sufficient action after she reported the evidence she claimed to have discovered.
The congresswoman used photographs, charts and other visual materials during her presentation to explain the allegations.
Her remarks included accusations involving sexual assault, unauthorized recordings and the exploitation of women and underage girls.
Those broader accusations should be distinguished from the specific criminal charges announced Wednesday, which concern the alleged 2018 incident and related conduct.
A fourth businessman named in Mace’s original speech, Brian Musgrave, was not among those charged in Wednesday’s announcement.
Musgrave has separately pursued legal action against Mace over allegations she made about him.
Bryant has also denied the accusations against him and previously indicated that he intended to cooperate with legal proceedings to defend his reputation.
Mace and Bryant were not engaged when the alleged 2018 assault occurred. Their relationship developed later and ended before her public allegations.
The congresswoman has maintained that discovering the material on Bryant’s phone prompted her to investigate and eventually bring the allegations to authorities.
Her decision to discuss the accusations on the House floor also generated questions about congressional speech protections.
Under the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause, members of Congress receive substantial legal protection for statements made as part of legislative proceedings.
Those protections became relevant after Mace faced legal challenges involving her public accusations.
Following Wednesday’s arrests, Mace released a statement emphasizing her legislative efforts to strengthen protections for victims of sexual assault, harassment and discrimination.
She highlighted 25 pieces of legislation that she says are intended to improve victims’ rights and make it more difficult for alleged offenders to escape accountability.
Among her proposals is legislation addressing defamation lawsuits brought against individuals who publicly report allegations of sexual misconduct.
Mace has argued that survivors can face significant financial and legal pressure when accused perpetrators respond with lawsuits.
One proposal she introduced this week would require plaintiffs who lose certain lawsuits to pay the defendants’ legal expenses.
The congresswoman maintains that stronger legal protections are necessary to encourage victims to report abuse without fear of retaliation.
The arrests also come during a period of political transition for Mace.
The Republican congresswoman is preparing to leave the House after an unsuccessful campaign for governor of South Carolina.
Despite her approaching departure from Congress, she has continued promoting legislation addressing sexual violence and protections for victims.
The criminal charges announced Wednesday provide a new development in a case that has remained controversial since Mace first brought the allegations to national attention.
However, the arrests do not establish that the defendants are guilty. Bryant, Bowman and Osborne are presumed innocent unless and until prosecutors prove the charges in court.
Investigators have not publicly established that every allegation raised during Mace’s original congressional speech is supported by the evidence underlying the new charges.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has also not fully clarified whether additional investigative work could result in further charges.
For now, prosecutors will have to present evidence supporting the specific offenses alleged against the three defendants.
That evidence could include witness testimony, photographs, electronic records and the security footage described in the arrest affidavits.
The case is likely to receive continued attention because of the seriousness of the allegations and the unusually public role Mace played in bringing them forward.
What began as a nationally televised congressional speech accusing several businessmen of sexual misconduct has now developed into a criminal prosecution involving three of those individuals.
As the legal proceedings move forward, the central questions will be what the available evidence establishes, whether prosecutors can prove the allegations and what accountability, if any, follows from the court process.
The post Nancy Mace’s Ex-Fiancé and Two Business Associates Charged With Sex Crimes After Explosive Congressional Speech appeared first on Real News Now.
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