A former Philadelphia police detective has been charged with rape after sexually assaulting several male witnesses and suspects.

Philip Nordo was fired from the police force in 2017 following allegations that he funnelled money into a witness’ commissary account as well as keeping inappropriate relationships with people connected to investigations, Philly.com reported.

Following a thorough investigation, it was revealed that he would ‘repeatedly contact young that he sought to groom’ and would threaten to arrest or jail suspects without probable cause as well as fraudulently steering reward money over a 10 year period.

It was reported that most of the abuse would happen inside interrogation rooms or prison visiting rooms.

Nordo would allegedly make inappropriate comments about the men’s genitals before assaulting them and it’s reported he would prefer to target men in handcuffs or leg shackles to assert his dominance.

Those who cooperated were rewarded with gift cards or money by the disgraced detective

One victim claimed that Nordo goaded him into masturbating in an interrogation room when he was arrested back in 2005. He also claimed the detective kissed him during the encounter.

The man – who died in a homicide - reported the incident to jail employees but it’s not known whether any disciplinary action was taken.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross claimed Nordo worked alone and said: “We have been able to determine as part of our investigation both here and the grand jury that no one else is connected to this in any way.”