Ex-fiance of Nancy Mace and two others charged with sex crimes she detailed in House speech

Key points

• Patrick Bryant and two associates face sex crime and voyeurism charges in South Carolina.
• The charges stem from an October 2018 assault Nancy Mace described in a House speech.
• Mace released a statement on bills to protect sexual assault victims after the arrests.

Patrick Bryant, the former fiancé of U.S. Representative Nancy Mace, and two business associates were charged on Wednesday with sex crimes and voyeurism in South Carolina. The charges relate to an October 2018 assault that Mace detailed in a nearly hourlong speech on the House floor in February 2025, where she named the men and criticized the poor investigation of crimes against women.

According to sworn statements by agents from the state law enforcement division, John Douglas Osborne committed sex acts on a 23-year-old woman who was incapacitated and intoxicated. Bryant and Eric Bernard Bowman watched the assault, which was recorded and also seen on a security system feed at a home in Sullivan's Island, an affluent suburb of Charleston. The woman had fallen into a pool and was passed out on a couch covering herself with a pillow, agents said.

Charges and Allegations

Osborne, 46, is charged with first-degree assault and battery and two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. Bryant, 53, and Bowman, 46, are each charged with voyeurism. Bowman also faces an obstruction of justice charge after agents said he reset a phone sought in a search warrant and published a victim's name and video on X.

Another woman who happened to be watching the security feed saw the assault and took pictures and wrote about it in a journal, police said. Mace and Bryant were not yet engaged at the time of the assault. Bryant did not return a message seeking comment, and attorneys for Bowman and Osborne did not immediately return messages.

Protecting women and holding predators accountable isn't a slogan. It's been one of my top priorities in Congress. For too long, survivors have faced broken systems while predators exploited loopholes and walked free

— Nancy Mace

Mace's Prior Speech and Response

In her February 2025 speech, Mace said she "accidentally uncovered some of the most heinous crimes against women imaginable," describing rape, non-consensual photos and videos of women and underage girls, and the exploitation of women and girls in her district. At the time, Bryant completely denied the allegations, telling The Associated Press he would cooperate fully to clear his name.

After the arrests, Mace released a statement detailing 25 bills she says will protect victims of sexual assault, harassment or discrimination. The Republican, who is leaving the House after losing her bid for South Carolina governor, introduced a proposal this week to require losing plaintiffs in such cases to pay defendants' attorney fees. She said, "Protecting women and holding predators accountable isn't a slogan."