A former Philadelphia homicide detective accused of sexually assaulting suspects and witnesses over the course of more than a decade was found guilty Wednesday of multiple crimes, including rape, as well as stealing crime reward money in the murder of an off-duty officer and sending it to one of his victims.
A jury found Philip Nordo, 55, guilty of rape, sexual assault, stalking, official oppression, theft by deception and related crimes. He was a 20-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department before he was fired in 2017.
A 2019 grand jury report alleged Nordo "groomed" his male victims during ongoing investigations and engaged in conduct to make the men "more susceptible to his sexually assaultive and/ or coercive behavior.”
Defense attorney Michael van der Veen, however, called his client a dedicated officer who won awards and praise from superiors. He dismissed those accusing Nordo of wrongdoing as “criminals, and liars, and thieves” whose accounts were inconsistent and lacked corroborating evidence.
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Prosecutors last week dropped more than half of the charges originally filed, citing an inability to locate one of his accusers.
Nordo first joined the police force in 1997 and was promoted to detective in 2002. Seven years later, he was on the Homicide Unit. During that time, Nordo allegedly "used his position of authority" to intimidate, rape and assault men associated with his cases. He then bullied them into silence, the heavily redacted report said.
He asked incarcerated sources to tell him when “homosexual inmates” were to be released “so he could have sex with them or sexually groom them,” according to the report.
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Much of this behavior occurred during active investigations. He also volunteered to work closely with his victims, including transporting inmates and witnesses for other detectives. These encounters allowed him to identify new victims or conceal his relationships with existing victims, the report said.
"Sadly, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office had an opportunity to stop Nordo in his tracks as early as 2005, before he became a homicide detective and committed these crimes," Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said. "At that time, the DAO was provided with very strong evidence of sexual misconduct by Nordo toward a young man he was interrogating, and disregarded it at a time when the Philly DAO was not known for holding law enforcement accountable, to put it mildly."
Nordo often targeted people who were already handcuffed or shackled, according to the grand jury findings.
Victims alleged Nordo would display his firearm and would tell suspects no one would believe them if they reported the alleged incidents.
The investigation led to a review of his police work and contributed to the reversal of several homicide convictions, including one involving a special needs athlete killed over his headphones.
"Mr. Nordo is now being held accountable for the many disturbing ways in which he abused his oath and his badge to hurt and threaten vulnerable young men," Krasner said. "His actions undoubtedly destroyed trust between members of the public and law enforcement."
In addition to the rape and sexual assault charges, Nordo was also found guilty of theft by deception. Nordo stole crime reward money in the murder of off-duty Philadelphia Police Officer Moses Walker. Nordo diverted the money to one of his victims by falsely claiming that victim helped solve Officer Walker's murder.
“This incredibly difficult and complex criminal case has many victims, beyond the three people who testified under oath while acknowledging the pain and trauma they still feel, as well as shame due to stigma that is still so outrageously persistent in our culture,” Krasner said. “Nordo’s misconduct produced a number of wrongful convictions that have been overturned, retraumatizing and destabilizing survivors, some of whom may never know the identities of those responsible for killing their loved ones. Our office continues to review several dozen homicide convictions for which Nordo was partly responsible, as integrity requires.”
Nordo is scheduled for sentencing on August 5, 2022.
