Ex-fiancé of US Rep. Nancy Mace, two others charged with sex crimes

State authorities say a Charleston businessman committed sex acts against an incapacitated woman while two other men recorded the acts.CHARLESTON, S.C. (CN) — U.S. Representative Nancy Mace’s ex-fiancé and two other men face charges of sex crimes and voyeurism almost two years after the South Carolina congresswoman leveled accusations against them in a speech on the U.S. House floor.Eric Bernard Bowman and Patrick Bryant, Mace’s former fiancé, are accused of recording the sex acts.Authorities say the 23-year-old woman became intoxicated and fell into a pool at the residence that night. She shed most of her clothing and covered herself with a pillow before passing out on a couch. While unconscious, the men discussed their sexual exploits before they agreed Osborne would have sex with the women, according to authorities.Another woman witnessed the acts from a home security video feed and overheard the men’s discussions, authorities say. She took two photographs of the video feed and wrote about the event in an email.The charges mirror accusations Mace made against the men in a nearly hourlong speech on the U.S. House Floor in February 2025. She accused South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and state Attorney General Alan Wilson, her former opponent in the South Carolina governor’s primary race, of delaying the investigation.The state agency said in a statement at the time that its agents had opened an investigation into Bryant in December 2023 on suspicion of “assault, harassment and voyeurism.”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 faces two other charges — obstruction of justice and publishing the name of a victim. Authorities say Bowman reset his phone, deleting its data, before turning it over to authorities. He also identified the woman at the center of the case on the social media platform X.All three men have previously denied assaulting the woman. It was unclear Wednesday if they had retained legal representation.Mace, who is leaving the House this term, did not address the charges in a statement published Wednesday, but she said she would not stop fighting for laws to protect victims and prosecute predators.“Protecting women and holding predators accountable isn’t a slogan,” she said. “It’s been one of my top priorities in Congress.”Bryant and Osborne are cofounders of The Harbor Entrepreneur Center, a nonprofit that works to connect entrepreneurs in the Charleston area. Bowman serves on the nonprofit’s board.Mace announced her engagement to Bryant on social media in May 2022. They split in November 2023 after Mace said she discovered evidence that Bryant and his business associates had recorded incidents of sexual exploitation and assault involving multiple women.A fourth man identified in Mace’s speech was not charged. He filed a libel suit against Mace last year, but the case was dismissed by a federal judge who determined Mace enjoyed immunity from liability for the statements she made during the congressional proceeding.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads