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Philadelphia homicide detective fired in 2017 and convicted in 2022 of sexually assaulting witnesses and stealing reward money; dozens of his homicide cases were reviewed. | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
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2026-09-23 | 2026-09-23 |
Philip Nordo is a former homicide detective of the Philadelphia Police Department, dismissed in 2017, who was convicted on June 1, 2022, of rape, sexual assault, indecent assault, official oppression, stalking and theft by deception, and sentenced in December 2022 to 24 and a half to 49 years in prison. The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office said its Conviction Integrity Unit had reviewed about 62 homicide convictions in which he was involved.12
Conviction
A Philadelphia jury found Nordo guilty of sexually assaulting witnesses in murder cases. The theft count concerned reward money in the murder of the off-duty police officer Moses Walker, which Nordo obtained by falsely claiming that one of his victims had helped solve the case. District Attorney Larry Krasner called Nordo's conduct "jaw-dropping and deeply shameful for the criminal justice system" and said that his office had disregarded strong evidence of misconduct in 2005. Sentencing was set for August 5, 2022, before Judge Giovanni Campbell, and bail was revoked; the sentence of 24 and a half to 49 years was reported on December 16, 2022, the defense having asked for ten years. "This is a terrible abuse of position to coerce and to victimize other people," Krasner said.12
Reviewed Cases
As of the verdict, according to the District Attorney's Office, five people wrongfully convicted of homicide in cases involving Nordo had been exonerated, two had received reduced sentences and charges, one had been granted a new trial, and four were awaiting rulings; a person wrongfully convicted of firearms offenses had been exonerated in 2017.1
In February 2023, after the December 2022 sentence, Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore told the Inquirer that detectives now receive greater supervision. The reporters wrote that Vanore could not point to a single reform made specifically in response to Nordo's wrongdoing, and that he said the department had not undertaken any review of Nordo's cases. Department officials cited protocols (recorded interrogations, voluntary-participation warnings, limits on questioning time) that the Inquirer reported were enacted in 2014, three years before Nordo was benched.3
Civil Suits
Civil-rights suits arising from his conduct include Thomas v. Nordo, No. 2:24-cv-04914 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, filed on September 17, 2024, in which Jerome Brown, counsel to Eugene Horsch and to R.C. Horsch in unrelated cases, is counsel of record.4
Footnotes
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Office of the Philadelphia District Attorney, "Former Homicide Detective Philip Nordo Accused of Sexual Assault, Theft Found Guilty on All Counts," press release, June 1, 2022. https://phillyda.org/news/former-homicide-detective-philip-nordo-accused-of-sexual-assault-theft-found-guilty-on-all-counts/ ↩︎
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"Former Philadelphia detective Philip Nordo sentenced to 24-49 years in prison," CBS News Philadelphia, December 16, 2022. https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/former-philadelphia-detective-philip-nordo-sentenced-to-24-49-years-in-prison/ ↩︎
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Chris Palmer and Samantha Melamed, "Four takeaways from the 'Predator in Blue' investigation into homicide detective Philip Nordo," The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 27, 2023. https://inquirer.com/news/philip-nordo-philly-police-detective-trial-sexual-assault-cases-20230227.html ↩︎
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Thomas v. Nordo, No. 2:24-cv-04914 (E.D. Pa.), filed September 17, 2024, docket via CourtListener RECAP. https://www.courtlistener.com/?q=%22Thomas+v.+Nordo%22 ↩︎