Honk News (Houston, TX) – Eric Sim, a 38-year-old ex-NASA engineer, was scheduled to face trial in two days on seven sexual assault charges. However, on Tuesday, all charges were dropped after prosecutors indicated that most could not be established beyond a reasonable doubt.
Sim, known for his role in a popular NASA parody video back in 2012, was taken into custody last March at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. According to his defense attorney Neal Davis, he had been released from jail on a $700,000 bond and was compelled to step down from his role at NASA.
Records indicate that the reported assaults took place from 2019 to 2022.
According to prosecutors during a press conference last April, Sim utilized dating platforms such as Hinge, East Meets East, and OkCupid to connect with women, feigning an interest in a serious relationship before committing assaults against them. They also called for victims from around the world to come forward.
Authorities uncovered explicit videos on Sim’s devices along with a detailed spreadsheet cataloging numerous women and information regarding their intimate interactions.
During the press conference, former District Attorney Kim Ogg indicated that Sim’s credentials with NASA and his international travels hinted at the possibility of additional victims. However, following a thorough examination of the evidence by the new District Attorney Sean Teare’s administration, the charges were ultimately dismissed.
Among the seven dismissals, records indicate that one occurred at the victim’s request.
“The survivors in these cases are our priority. They are the victims of predatory acts, and we stand firm in recognizing their trauma. Forcing them to relive their pain in a public courtroom serves no purpose. Over the past 11 months, our investigators and prosecutors have sifted through terabytes of data, only to uncover insufficient evidence to prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt. We owe it to these survivors to ensure justice, not re-victimization,” DA Sean Teare’s office wrote in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
