PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Testimony has wrapped for both sides in the sexual assault and corruption trial of Philip Nordo, a fired Philadelphia homicide detective accused of attacking three men.
The prosecution’s final witness was a forensic cellphone analyst who extracted pictures and text messages from the former detective’s phone, and from his partner.
Nordo faces oppression and obstruction charges, and prosecutors allege he posted secret legal documents tied to a 2015 shooting and to a man who they say he tried to sexually assault in an elevator at the roundhouse.
Pictures of someone — specifically, a white person’s thumb — holding those documents were on the phone.
Two screenshot pictures of article titles were also on the phone: one titled “How Psychopaths Use Mind Control Techniques,” and the other, “Sex and Mind Control: A Powerful Combination.”
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Nordo and his partner texted about Nordo manipulating witnesses and informants. He said things like, “I made them think I was their BFF.” His partner replied, “I know you were successful in mind-f***ing them. I don’t have a problem with that. Everyone has his/her method.”
The two also go back and forth about reward money for two men, after Nordo was fired from the department.
The defense probed at the phone extraction process, and the analyst said there’s no way to tell how the pictures got onto the phone — whether they were taken or saved into a folder.
Defense attorneys also called nearly a dozen character witnesses for Nordo, as well as a police captain and retired sergeant who spoke highly of him. They said he had a very good or impeccable reputation for being a law-abiding, peaceful and truthful person.
Closing arguments are set for Thursday.