Woman sues three Charleston-area businessman over alleged 2018 rape

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – An unidentified woman is suing three Charleston-area businessmen, alleging one of them sexually assaulted her when she was unconscious, and the others watched and filmed the alleged 2018 incident.

The men accused in the May 29 complaint in Charleston County – Patrick Bryant, John Osborne, and Eric Bowman – were three of the four men named by Republican U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace in an explosive February 10 speech on the House floor during which she detailed how she said she accidentally found evidence of “rape, nonconsensual photos and videos of women and underage girls,” including herself.

Bryant is Mace’s ex-fiancé, and all four men have publicly denied the allegations.

Mace read parts of the complaint during a Thursday afternoon press conference on Daniel Island. The woman, who was reportedly 23 at the time, is one of the victims she referenced during her floor speech as having found video recordings and photos of.  

“This young woman didn’t know she was raped because she was unconscious when it happened,” the congresswoman said. “I told her the truth after I found the footage. It was one of the hardest conversations of my life. Her strength in coming forward is immeasurable. And I will stand with her, under oath, every step of the way.”

The woman, referred to as Jane Doe, claims she was working for one of Bryant’s companies in 2018, when she went out drinking with a friend and eventually met up with the defendants before ending the night at Bowman’s Sullivan’s Island home.

The complaint claims Doe was “very intoxicated and was barely able to walk or talk” at the time and fell into the pool. She allegedly went back into the house, took off her clothes, and “passed out” on the couch, nearly naked but covered with pillows.

She alleges that while she was incapacitated, Bowman and Bryant took nonconsensual photos of her and later filmed Osborne sexually assaulting her.

The incident was caught on the home’s security camera and witnessed by one of the men’s wives, who sent herself an email detailing what she had seen, according to the complaint.

When Doe awoke the next morning, the lawsuit claims she was told that he had fallen into the pool. She reportedly did not know she had been assaulted until Mace told her in April 2024.

The victim further claimed in the lawsuit that she now believes her drink may have been spiked earlier in the night.

A spokesperson for the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) said in a Feb. 10 emailed statement to News 2 that it opened an investigation into Bryant regarding allegations of assault, harassment, and voyeurism in December 2023 after being contacted by the U.S. Capitol Police.

News 2 is reaching out to Bryant, Bowman, and Osborne for comment and is awaiting a response.

This story is breaking and may be updated.