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An anonymous woman filed a bombshell civil lawsuit in Charleston County, South Carolina on Thursday afternoon (May 29, 2025) accusing three prominent Lowcountry entrepreneurs – one of them the former fiancée of U.S. congresswoman Nancy Mace – of sexually assaulting her while she was unconscious.
The lawsuit further claimed these three men conspired to cover up the alleged crime… and tried to intimidate her into remaining silent.
The 26-page complaint (.pdf) named Patrick Bryant, John Osborne, Eric Bowman and Pommer Group LLC as defendants. It outlined a series of disturbing allegations – including alleged third-degree criminal sexual conduct, battery, defamation and a conspiracy to commit sexual battery and disseminate nonconsensual images.
The woman’s claims expanded upon dramatic testimony Mace delivered from the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year. In February, Mace introduced the Stop VOYEURS Act of 2025, legislation aimed at expanding protections for victims of video voyeurism. During her “scorched earth” speech, she stunned her colleagues by sharing that she had personally uncovered video evidence of a sexual assault involving her then-fiancée’s business associates – and that the victim had no knowledge the assault had occurred.
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“I had to tell a woman she’d been raped – she had no idea because she was incapacitated when it happened,” Mace said. “I accidentally found photos and video of her assault. I saw one of Patrick Bryant’s business associates, John Osborne, sexually assaulting her… Patrick Bryant and Eric Bowman both had their phones out during the rape.”
According to the complaint, the woman Mace referred to in her speech is the plaintiff in the case.
“I am filing this lawsuit for myself and for other women who fear being publicly shamed if they report what happened to them,” the woman said in a statement released by her attorney, Marybeth Mullaney. “While Congresswoman Mace and I do not share the same political ideology, what has been and will continue to be important to me is her courage in bringing this to light and her unwavering support through this traumatic time in my life. I hope this case encourages women to give themselves the permission to trust their instincts and let go of the shame that never belonged to them in the first place.”
“This young woman didn’t know she was raped because she was unconscious when it happened,” Mace said in a statement. “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.”
Mace’s allegations are part of a criminal investigation led by the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED). According to SLED’s public information director Renée Wunderlich, that investigation is “active and ongoing.”
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RELATED | NANCY MACE’S SCORCHED EARTH SPEECH BLASTS ALLEGED SEX PREDATORS
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One of the men accused by Mace in her floor speech, Brian Musgrave of Fort Mill, S.C., has since sued her for defamation. Musgrave was not named in the Jane Doe lawsuit, incidentally. Another of the alleged “predators,” John Osborne of Johns Island, recently lost his job as a managing partner at a Charleston, S.C.-based venture capital firm.
As for Bowman, he was arrested last month by officers of the Sullivan’s Island Police Department (SIPD) and charged with one count of first degree harassment and one count of stalking in a tangentially related case. Mace has also filed a civil lawsuit against Bowman accusing him of making “multiple, objectively false assertions of fact to third parties asserting that she committed illegal acts and abused her office as a member of the House of Representatives.”
Mace said the lawsuit “seeks to hold the perpetrators accountable for the premeditated, and deeply traumatizing assault.”
“This isn’t just about one woman, this is about predators who have operated with impunity for far too long,” Mace continued. “The lawsuit filed today is only the start, only the first step toward justice for her and others. It’s proof predators can be exposed. That truth matters. That survivors have power. And that justice isn’t optional, it’s long overdue.”
According to Mace, the lawsuit was filed “after more than one year of inaction from state authorities.”
“When the system fails to protect victims, it’s not just broken, it’s complicit,” Mace said. “Every woman harmed by predators deserves justice. If our solicitor and attorney general won’t fight for them, I will.”
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THE ALLEGATIONS
The suit alleges that the incident occurred in October 2018 at a residence on Sullivan’s Island owned by Bowman and managed by his company, Pommer Group. The plaintiff, then 23 years old, was reportedly working as Bryant’s assistant at the time. She claims she was heavily intoxicated – possibly drugged – when Osborne allegedly performed sex acts on her while she was unconscious, as Bryant and Bowman watched and filmed.
Bowman’s former partner – referred to in the complaint as “JDW” – reportedly witnessed the assault via security cameras in the home and documented what she saw in a diary entry emailed to herself the following morning.
“Bowman and Bryant took pictures on their cell phones of plaintiff’s private parts while she was unconscious and wearing a bra and no underwear,” the complaint alleged. “Osborne digitally penetrated (Doe)’s vagina and performed cunnilingus on her while Bowman and Bryant filmed it. (Doe) was unconscious and did not consent or have the capacity to consent.”
The complaint claimed JDW later provided the email and screenshots to Mace – and to law enforcement. The woman said she only learned of the assault in April 2024, when Mace called her directly and informed her about the video she had discovered on Bryant’s phone.
Since then, the plaintiff alleged, she has endured threats, harassment and public shaming. The complaint further detailed alleged attempts by Bowman and Bryant to intimidate her into silence, including threatening to release videos of her intoxicated and contacting media outlets with her personal information.
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POLITICAL AND LEGAL FALLOUT
The filing comes amid a political firestorm involving Mace, who has been publicly at odds with her former fiancé in recent weeks. In a statement provided to FITSNews last week, Bryant denied all wrongdoing and accused Mace of “weaponizing her office.”
“I have not and would not commit any acts of sexual assault, period,” Bryant wrote. “I will defend myself vigorously and am confident I will be exonerated.”
In response to the specific allegations raised by the latest filing, Bryant issued the following statement:
This lawsuit is yet another media stunt in Nancy Mace’s long-running vendetta and blackmail campaign against me.
It is simply part of a narrative and continuing effort on her part designed to attempt to destroy me, and to somehow benefit politically from the publicity.
– PATRICK BRYANT
According to Bryant, excerpts from a recently leaked deposition of former Mace strategist Wesley Donehue support his denials – and reveal Mace’s true motivation for leveling the charges. Bryant specifically pointed to Donehue’s insistence that during his time with Mace he was provided with numerous alleged images by the congresswoman – but none of them depicted sexual assault.
“There was no proof of some of the things she was alleging,” Donehue said.
Mace, meanwhile, doubled down on the allegations during her opening statement to the U.S. House oversight committee that same day, describing Bryant as “a predator hiding behind power and privilege.”
The lawsuit stated that Mace reported the video and associated materials to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in December 2023. The matter was then referred to SLED.
The plaintiff is seeking actual and punitive damages, as well as a court order barring the defendants from publicly disclosing her identity or any further defamatory material. She also requests attorney’s fees and injunctive relief.
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THE COMPLAINT…
(S.C. Ninth Judicial Circuit)
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Jenn Wood is FITSNews’ incomparable research director. She’s also the producer of the FITSFiles and Cheer Incorporated podcasts and leading expert on all things Murdaugh/ South Carolina justice. A former private investigator with a criminal justice degree, evildoers beware, Jenn Wood is far from your average journalist! A deep dive researcher with a passion for truth and a heart for victims, this mom of two is pretty much a superhero in FITSNews country. Did we mention she’s married to a rocket scientist? (Lucky guy!) Got a story idea or a tip for Jenn? Email her at jenn@fitsnews.com.
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2 comments
The guys all look a little “fruity”