Nancy Mace's former fiancé and two other men charged in 2018 Sullivan's Island case

South Carolina state agents arrested three Charleston County men on Wednesday in a 2018 sexual assault case that Rep. Nancy Mace first laid out in a dramatic House floor speech last year. One of the three is her former fiancé.

The charges

State investigators said John Douglas Osborne, 46, is accused of first-degree assault and battery along with two third-degree counts of criminal sexual conduct. Brendan Patrick Bryant, 53, who was once engaged to Mace, faces a single voyeurism count. Eric Bernard Bowman, 46, is charged with voyeurism and obstruction of justice plus a count of publicly naming a sexual assault victim.

Each man was jailed at the Charleston County detention center named for former Sheriff Al Cannon. Prosecutors from the 9th Circuit Solicitor's Office will take the case to court. No court dates were listed in the state's announcement.

What agents say happened

Sworn statements from state agents describe a night at a home on Sullivan's Island. Investigators say a 23-year-old woman fell into a pool and later passed out on a couch while heavily intoxicated. Agents allege Osborne performed sex acts on her while she could not consent as Bryant and Bowman looked on and took photos and video.

The affidavits say a witness watched the scene unfold on a home security feed, documented it and held on to still images.

From a House speech to arrest warrants

Mace, a South Carolina Republican, spent nearly an hour on the House floor in February 2025 accusing her ex-fiancé and other men of abusing women. She said she found photos and videos on Bryant's phone while the two were dating and said she was a victim as well.

Bryant has denied wrongdoing. When Mace first went public he said he would cooperate with any legal process to clear his name. The charges are allegations only and none of the three men has been convicted of a crime.