HOUSTON — Two women are accusing a man identified as a NASA aerospace engineer of sexually assaulting them.
Eric Sim, 37, is facing two counts of sexual assault.
According to his lawyer, Sim was arrested at work without notice on Friday and released on a $500,000 bond earlier this week.
Court documents say the alleged assaults happened at his home back in 2021 with two separate women he met through a dating app. Both women had gone on several dates with him before the alleged attacks happened, according to prosecutors.
"You think he would be somebody that was trustworthy and safe. and they had every reason to believe that he was," prosecutor Janna Oswald said.
According to prosecutors, one woman told investigators she believed she may have been drugged before the assault while the two were drinking wine. She says she woke up hours later naked with signs of sexual assault injuries. That woman said she also contracted an STD.
The other alleged victim said Sim forced himself onto her when she refused to have sex with him, Oswald said.
The women said Sim threatened to release videos of the incidents if they went to police, according to prosecutors.
They are concerned that there could be other victims. Oswald said they discovered that women were sharing warnings about Sim online.
"There are sites out there stating, 'Don't date him,'" Oswald said. "And Instagram pages that were created way before this investigation."
We spoke with Sim's lawyer. He said Sim claims everything was consensual and that he'd gone out on several dates with the women.
"He's obviously shocked and devastated over these false allegations," defense attorney Neal Davis said. "I think they're starting to hit him, the gravity of what these allegations are, and he is looking forward to proving his innocence."
Davis asked why it took so long for the women to come forward.
"It is not uncommon for victims or complainants of sexual abuse to delay in their outcry and that's what we had here," Oswald said.
According to court documents, Sim has worked at NASA for nine years.
We've reached out to NASA for comment and are waiting to hear back.
Star of NASA's 'Gangnam Style' parody that went viral
If Sim looks familiar, that's because he starred in a viral parody music video of 'Gangnam Style' called 'NASA's Johnson Style' eleven years ago.
The spoof of South Korean pop star Psy's hit was created by NASA interns in 2013 and it featured cameos from NASA astronauts. They created the music video to "promote NASA’s efforts to increase interest in science, technology, math and science through unique internships and student experiences," according to an article on NASA's website.
At the time, Sim was a student at North Carolina State University.
The video went viral with more than 8.6 million views and became the most-watched clip on the agency’s “Reel NASA” YouTube channel.
After its success, NASA also created a behind-the-scenes look into the making of the parody.