WARRANTS: SLED charges 3 men accused on House floor by Rep. Nancy Mace

by Marissa Thompson, Kavya Ramesh

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) — Nearly eight years after the incident and more than a year after a Lowcountry representative made accusations in a speech against them, three men are facing charges in the alleged sexual assault of a young woman.

John Douglas Osborne, 46, is accused of assaulting the woman and faces charges of first-degree assault and battery, along with two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. Brendan Patrick Bryant, 53, is charged with voyeurism. Eric Bernard Bowman, 46, faces charges of voyeurism, obstruction of justice and publishing the name of a victim of criminal sexual conduct.

The men are accused of playing various roles in the assault of an intoxicated woman, age 23 at the time, at a home on Sullivan’s Island.

Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina’s First Congressional District accused all three defendants and one other man in February of last year in a speech she gave on the House floor in Washington, D.C.

All three men appeared in bond court Wednesday morning. Bond was set at $225,000 for Osborne, $50,000 for Bryant and $175,000 for Bowman.

(L) Eric Bowman, (C) John Osborne, (R) Brendan Bryant

A SLED victim’s advocate told the court that a captain investigating the case asked the judge to note that one of the men “does have a recent violent criminal history” and “a history of violating his bond conditions and having to have his body coped,” and said, “I would like to reiterate that he is a flight risk and a danger to [the community],” according to the advocate’s statement in court.

Nearly eight years after the incident and more than a year after a Lowcountry representative made accusations in a speech against them, three men are facing charges in the alleged sexual assault of a young woman.

What happened, according to SLED

The South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division confirmed that they had been investigating at least one of the men Mace named in her speech since December 2023.

Arrest warrants and affidavits were issued Monday describing the alleged acts, which some may find disturbing to read, that led to these charges. The narrative provided by SLED agents under oath is as follows.

In the early morning hours of Oct. 26, 2018, the victim had drank alcoholic beverages before returning to a Sullivan’s Island home.

She was so thoroughly intoxicated that she fell into the swimming pool of the home. As a result, she was left barely clothed, unable to speak coherently or walk normally.

The victim made her way to a sofa and covered herself before passing out on the sofa in the common area, where she “had a reasonable expectation to be safe from hostile intrusion or surveillance.”

While she was unconscious, Osborne, Bryant and Bowman spoke with one another and “discussed sexual exploits.”

This conversation resulted in the men deciding that Osborne would sexually assault the victim in several ways while Bryant and Bowman watched for their own sexual gratification.

During this, the victim “was mentally incapacitated and physically helpless due to her extreme intoxication” and could not and did not consent to any of the acts performed on her.

An unnamed witness watching home security footage overheard the conversations and saw the assault happen, watching Bowman and Bryant also take photos and videos of the victim.

“The witness obtained and saved two still photographic images from the video feed and created an email/journal entry detailing the incident from her perspective,” a SLED agent said in their affidavit.

Years later, Bowman’s Sullivan’s Island home was the subject of a SLED search warrant on March 20, 2025. Bowman was not home and, although several cellphones were seized, the phone in question was not at the home.

“That same day, Bowman’s legal representation reached out to SLED’s attorneys to demand a privilege review be conducted on any information extracted from the seized devices,” an agent stated.

SLED made repeated requests for the device that was in use, Bowman and his lawyer made arrangements to give the phone to SLED, which they received March 26, 2025.

However, the device as given to SLED was only activated two days prior, with data showing that the phone had been factory reset on the night of March 23. This removed all data from the phone.

“This ‘factory’ reset... occurred despite Bowman’s knowledge of SLED’s search warrants seeking the device in question and impeded the investigation and the administration of justice in this matter.”

Furthermore, Bowman was also found to have posted to X the name of the victim and a video in which she could be identified despite the ongoing investigation in which she was the victim, which Bowman was aware of.

What we know now

Osborne, Bryant and Bowman were booked into the Al Cannon Detention Center Wednesday morning ahead of SLED’s announcing the charges.

Court records do not yet indicate the timing of upcoming steps, such as bond hearings, nor reflect the current charges.

Mace has not commented on the arrests, but did release a statement largely highlighting her legislative record, which, according to the release, shows “her commitment to protecting women and standing with survivors by advancing legislation to strengthen victims’ rights and hold sexual predators accountable.”

“Every survivor deserves to be heard. Every victim deserves justice. Every predator deserves accountability. We will not stop fighting until our laws put victims first and predators behind bars,” Mace said in the statement.

Mace was not present in court but her attorney, Mary Beth Mullaney, spoke on her behalf.

“I’m happy for my client. This is a good, as she said to the victim’s advocate, you know, this is a good, a good first step. And I hope there’s many more good steps to come,” Mullaney said.

Mullaney said a civil case connected to the matter is still pending.

“Mr. Bryant’s Company, Assignment Desk Works, sued my client for breach of contract in April of 2025 for violating a non-disparagement agreement that she signed. My client asked me to defend her in that matter. I am defending her in that case, and in response to that lawsuit, I filed a civil action against Mr. Bryant, his company, Assignment Desk Works, as well as the other perpetrators in this case,” Mullaney said. “Because that litigation is currently pending, I prefer not to comment. However, I’ll refer you to the victim’s impact statement that my client gave in court through the advocate for SLED, the victim’s advocate. And I also ask the press to please respect my client’s wishes to remain a Jane Doe, even though the judge in the civil action ruled against us in that matter. Given that her identity had already been revealed by Mr. Bowman, who published her identity and pictures of her with the Daily Mail, and by Mr. Bryant, who publicly sued her under her given name. And I’d like to thank the prosecutor for charging Mr. Bowman with that crime, because it is a crime in South Carolina to publish the name of a sexual assault victim.”

In a statement read in court by a SLED victim’s advocate, Mace said she did not learn she had been assaulted until April 2024.

“For nearly six years, I had no idea what happened to me on October 26, 2018. In April 2024, I learned that I had been sexually assaulted. Later that year, I learned that someone had witnessed what happened to me while I was unconscious and unable to protect myself. Horrified by what she saw, she wrote it down in an email to herself the next morning. Since then, my sense of safety, privacy, and trust has been shattered. I constantly worry about being watched, followed, or secretly recorded,” Mace said in the statement.

“The trauma was compounded when Mr. Bryant, my former employer, hired numerous law firms to sue me for speaking about my own experience. I was devastated by the court’s interpretation of the Speak Out Act, which I believe failed to protect me from the very silencing and legal intimidation the legislation was intended to prevent. I was deeply shaken when the judge ruled that I could not remain a Jane Doe, and my identity had to be made public because Mr. Bryant publicly sued me, and because Mr. Bowman revealed my identity to the press in an effort to silence, shame, and humiliate me,” she said.

“My experience, along with the stories of survivors, such as the women in the Cornell 7 case, and the witness in this case, reflects how difficult seeking accountability can become when powerful individuals and institutions are involved. I know this is only the first step toward these men taking accountability for what they did to me, but it is a very significant step. All I wanted was the truth, the freedom to speak it, and the ability to live without fear,” she said.

Prior coverage:

SLED confirms assault, voyeurism investigation underway after Mace speech

Ethics board to review Rep. Mace over alleged improper reimbursements

US attorneys ready to ‘vigorously defend’ Rep. Nancy Mace in court

Lawsuit filed against U.S. Rep. Mace over speech accusing men of being predators

Sullivan’s Island man charged with stalking, harassment over tracking device use

U.S. Rep. Mace files defamation suit against man she labeled a predator

Court filing targets Mace, alleged sexual assault victim in legal battle

Man suing Mace files to block her attempt to replace her name in defamation suit

Judge removes Mace’s name from defamation lawsuit, dismisses case

Judge denies bond for Sullivan’s Island man facing domestic violence charge

Judge delays bond decision for Sullivan’s Island man to to review video