A NASA engineer who appeared in a viral music video parody for Houston’s Johnson Space Center has been arrested in Texas after allegedly sexually assaulting two women he met on dating apps.
Eric Sim, 37, was already bailed out of a Houston jail for $500,000 on the charges, according to investigators.
In December 2012, while Sim was still a student, the Johnson Space Center’s YouTube account posted a music video starring Sim as he parodied the South Korean rapper Psy’s hit “Gangnam Style.”
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NASA engineer Eric Sim starred in a 2012 viral music video shared by the agency’s Johnson Space Center. (NASA Johnson/YouTube)
Sim copied Psy’s dance moves and pranced around the center alongside young women, astronauts and other NASA employees while singing modified lyrics for “NASA Johnson Style.”
“He presents himself as an educated, nice guy,” Harris County prosecutor Janna Oswald told Houston’s ABC 13. “He puts on these dating apps that he works at NASA, a reputable job, something that you would think that you’d be able to trust, that you wouldn’t be subjected to a crime given his background.”
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But the allegations contain a dark twist for potential romantic partners. The suspect allegedly refused to take no for an answer and is accused of drugging one of the women and overpowering the other.
Both alleged assaults happened at Sim’s Houston-area home, but prosecutors told Fox News Digital he may have additional victims, and police are actively investigating.
NASA engineer Eric Sim dancing in a still image taken from a parody music video posted to the Johnson Space Center’s YouTube account. (NASA Johnson/YouTube)
“There are likely other women out there — not just in the Houston area — but potentially all over the world involved,” Nicole Parker, a former FBI agent, told Fox News Digital Wednesday.
She said the case shares “eerie” similarities with other incidents involving dating apps and date rape drugs like GHB.
“He used the fact that he worked for NASA to gain the credibility and trust of these women,” she said.
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Sim’s attorney denied the accusations, telling KHOU-11 his client is “shocked and devastated over these false allegations.”
“I think they’re starting to hit him, the gravity of what these allegations are, and he is looking forward to proving his innocence,” attorney Neal Davis told the outlet.
