NASA engineer ‘believed to be serial rapist’ gains trust with credentials, officials say

A NASA engineer has been charged in connection with six sexual assaults, Texas officials say. Now they are looking for more possible survivors.

In an April 3 news conference, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said 37-year-old Eric Sim is “believed to be a serial rapist,” and is encouraging other possible survivors to come forward.

“The nature of these offenses is so personal and so predatory that we felt it was important we tell the public,” Ogg said.

“Take a look — a long hard look — at Mr. Sim and let us know if .... you’ve been victimized by him,” she added.

Eric Sim, of Houston, was arrested in February at the Johnson Space Center and charged in two assault cases from 2021, according to KHOU.

Since his arrest, four more women have come forward accusing Sim, a NASA employee of nine years, of sexual assaults that occurred between 2019 and 2022, according to officials and court records.

These additional charges were filed March 27, court records show.

Officials said they believe Sim used his professional credentials to gain the trust of his victims, whom he met on several different dating apps and websites.

“When people have a career or an identity through something as trusted as NASA … that does gain trust pretty immediately,” Assistant District Attorney and Chief of the Adult Sex Division Janna Oswald said.

McClatchy News reached out to NASA on April 4 for comment but did not receive an immediate response.

In a statement provided to Houston’s KPRC, NASA said its “security team cooperated with local law enforcement agencies on Thursday, Feb. 29, when they arrested an employee at Johnson Space Center in Houston.”

“However, it is not appropriate for NASA to comment on ongoing investigations,” the agency added.

Investigators said Sim portrayed himself as someone interested in and seeking a committed relationship while communicating with multiple women.

All six of the known assaults happened at Sim’s residence, officials said.

One survivor said she believed she may have been drugged after she woke up naked with evidence of sexual assault injuries, KHOU reported, citing court documents.

“Eric is a well-regarded engineer who would never commit a crime like this,” Sim’s attorney Neal Davis told McClatchy News on April 4. “He met several women on social media and dated them. Unfortunately, few had day-after regrets and have leveled these false allegations. We look forward to proving his innocence in court.”

Officials said that Sim’s extensive domestic and international travel could mean there are more victims who have yet to come forward. Officials also note that Sim has remained active on dating apps since the latest 2022 incident he accused of.

Although authorities have access to Sim’s dating profiles and information about other women he communicated with, officials said it is important for possible victims to “control their own involvement with law enforcement,” Oswald said.

“When one or more than one complainant comes out, it empowers others and it makes them feel not as alone in what they experienced,” Oswald said, addressing the time that has passed between the time of the alleged assaults and the charges.

Sim bonded out of jail April 2 and is on 24-hour house arrest with monitored online activity, officials said. He is due back in court April 29, court records show.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Houston Police Department.

If you have experienced sexual assault and need someone to talk to, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline for support at 1-800-656-4673 or visit the hotline's online chatroom.

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