COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace's former fiance and two of his business associates were charged with sex crimes and voyeurism on Wednesday over an episode the South Carolina congresswoman described in detail during a speech last year on the House floor about how crimes against women are not investigated thoroughly.
John Douglas Osborne committed sex acts on a 23-year-old incapacitated and intoxicated woman while Mace's ex-fiance Patrick Bryant and Eric Bernard Bowman watched, according to sworn statements by agents from the State Law Enforcement Division, which brought the charges.
The men talked about who would assault the woman beforehand, took photos and recorded the assault, which was also seen on a security system feed at the home in Sullivan's Island, an affluent suburb of Charleston, state agents said. The woman had fallen into a pool and was passed out on a couch covering herself with a pillow, agents said.
Another woman who happened to be watching the feed saw the assault and took pictures and wrote about it in a journal, police said. Mace and Bryant were not yet engaged at the time of the October 2018 assault.
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.
Along with the voyeurism charge, Bowman was also charged with obstruction of justice after agents said he did a factory reset on a cellphone he knew investigators were seeking in a search warrant, and with publishing the name of a victim of criminal sexual conduct after posting the victim’s name and a video of her on X.
Bryant didn't return a message seeking comment on Wednesday, and attorneys who have been listed as representing Bowman and Osborne in other cases did not immediately return messages.
Mace, a Republican, described the assault at length in a nearly hourlong speech in February 2025 that named the men and described other photos and videos found when she looked at Bryant's cellphone when they were still together.
Mace said she “accidentally uncovered some of the most heinous crimes against women imaginable. We’re talking about rape, non-consensual photos, non-consensual videos of women and underage girls, and the premeditated, calculated exploitation of women and girls in my district.”
At the time, Bryant completely denied the allegations. “I take this matter seriously and will cooperate fully with any necessary legal processes to clear my name,” he told The Associated Press.
The State Law Enforcement Division didn't say if their investigation into any of the men is continuing.
After the arrests, Mace released a statement detailing the 25 bills she says will protect victims of sexual assault, harassment or discrimination, including in retaliatory defamation and libel lawsuits that may result from allegations they bring to light.
The Republican, who is leaving the House this term after losing her bid to be South Carolina governor, introduced a proposal this week to require that anyone who brings such a case and loses must pay attorney fees for the defendant.
“Protecting women and holding predators accountable isn’t a slogan. It’s been one of my top priorities in Congress. For too long, survivors have faced broken systems while predators exploited loopholes and walked free,” Mace said in her statement.
FILE - Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., listens during a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform markup business meeting, Jan. 21, 2026, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
CAIRO (AP) — Iran-backed Houthi rebels hit the headquarters of the Saudi state-owned oil company Aramco in an overnight strike, two regional officials said Wednesday, damaging the offices of the firm’s chief executive and other top officials.
The strike, in the eastern Saudi Arabian city of Dhahran, was the latest demonstration of the Houthis' ability to attack high-profile targets.
There were no casualties in the attack, which the officials said damaged the building's top three floors. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the matter with the media.
The Houthis had warned earlier they were targeting Dhahran with a ballistic missile.
The sight of smoke rising from some of Saudi Arabia’s most sensitive facilities in recent days has rattled the region and global markets while increasing questions for U.S. President Donald Trump, who has said he's evaluating whether the U.S. should join Saudi strikes against the Houthis in the latest front in the Iran war.
The Saudi energy ministry reported a “limited fire” at the Aramco building Tuesday night. Aramco didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Wednesday, Saudi civil defense authorities in the capital, Riyadh, said debris from an intercepted strike had left one person injured. The state-run SPA news agency published images showing a damaged building and a vehicle with a large cylindrical object, seemingly part of a missile, lodged in its hood.
The Saudi-led coalition said that it had intercepted two Houthi drones, four cruise missiles and one ballistic missile targeting Riyadh, a ballistic missile targeting Dhahran and a cruise missile targeting Al-Kharj, a key military and industrial city. Alerts for incoming missiles were also sounded around Riyadh, though details weren't immediately clear.
The Houthis called the attacks retaliation for “treacherous Saudi aggression” against Sanaa, the rebel-held Yemeni capital, and other areas, as the kingdom backs the forces of neighboring Yemen's internationally recognized government in a major military offensive launched a week and a half ago. The rebel-run Health Ministry reported two dead in attacks in Yemen on Tuesday and blamed the Saudis.
The Houthis have repeatedly targeted Saudi airports, military facilities and oil infrastructure. King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh has been targeted multiple times in the past week with strikes that have killed at least 18 people and wounded more than 300 others, greatly affecting aviation across the kingdom.
The Houthis, hardened by years of civil war, have emerged as Iran's most effective armed proxy of the moment, but experts say they also have their own agenda. Either way, they are applying increasing pressure on a key U.S. ally.
There has been an “unprecedented surge” in combat casualties along Yemen's front lines, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross, particularly in the city of Marib, along the Red Sea coast and the besieged city of Taiz, where the World Food Program says it can no longer reach more than 600,000 people who depend on aid.
Main roads leading into Yemen's third-largest city have been closed amid rebel attacks, with regular clashes on the outskirts and overnight bombardment.
Residents are increasingly worried about dwindling supplies of fuel and food.
A Taiz resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity fearing the Houthis could seize the city, said that long lines now formed outside shops, and public transportation has become increasingly scarce because of fuel shortages. The sound of loud explosions keeps her awake at night, she said in a telephone interview, adding that downtown Taiz hasn't been shelled.
On Wednesday, schools in Taiz were ordered closed for a month.
A senior Houthi official told The Associated Press that regional and international powers have reached out in an effort to stop the attacks on Saudi Arabia as part of a ceasefire deal.
Mohamed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthis’ political bureau, said that Oman has tried to get both sides back to the negotiating table, and Russia and China also tried via Iran.
“We’re welcoming any mediation that leads to an end of the war and the blockade between Sanaa and Riyadh,” he said. “We’re ready for a comprehensive end of the war and the blockade from both sides, not just a temporary ceasefire.”
The rebels continued to warn of attacks on both airports and oil facilities. More than 3,000 flights scheduled to depart from airports across Saudi Arabia have been canceled or listed as not operating in the past week, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
The escalation has highlighted Saudi Arabia’s struggle to intercept Houthi missiles and drones. The kingdom has pressed allies like the United States for more military support. Regional officials say Saudi Arabia, the world’s top purchaser of U.S. weapons, is running low on interceptors.
The Saudis are trying to stop daily attacks across a territory about three times the size of Texas. Experts say intercepting all of the missiles and drones is impossible. The Houthis have a large arsenal capable of reaching targets well over 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) away, with some warheads capable of changing direction midflight.
The Saudi-led coalition is also striking oil targets. Earlier Wednesday, the Houthi-run Health Ministry said that two people were killed in an airstrike on Tuesday on an oil facility near the Ras Isa port in Hodeida province. The coalition attacked another oil facility in Sanaa.
The targeting of fuel storage facilities in Houthi-controlled areas marks a new phase, said Ahmed Nagi, senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group, a think tank. He said that in a war of attrition, the rebels could risk losing much of their military capacity.
“The Houthis are betting on pressure, while the Saudis are betting on time,” Nagi said.
The fighting has revived Yemen's civil war after four years of relative calm.
“There’s a huge fear,” said one Sanaa resident, Umm Shadi, after the Saudi-led strikes there on Tuesday, adding that people are largely staying home.
A United Nations staff member detained by the rebels has been released, the U.N. special envoy for Yemen said Wednesday. Sami al-Kalabi, who was detained in June 2024, has been freed, Hans Grundberg said. Last week, the World Food Program announced the release of one of its employees.
The Houthis continue to hold 71 U.N. workers arbitrarily detained over the past few years. Aid workers are often held for months without charges, accused of being spies for the West or Israel, claims their families deny.
Cara Anna reported from Jerusalem. Marzouk al-Jaberi in Taiz, Yemen, Fatma Khaled in Cairo, and Sarah El Deeb in Beirut, contributed to this report.
FILE -Birds fly over a billboard advertisement for Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil giant Aramco, with Arabic that reads, "Saudi Aramco, soon on stock exchange," in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)
