Missing Underscore Lands Innocent Man in Prison for 18 Months
A one-character mistake in a Skyrim-themed username led Canadian police to arrest and convict the wrong person, who served 18 months before the error was discovered.
The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal has overturned the conviction of Brandon Klayme, who was wrongfully imprisoned for 18 months on child sex abuse charges. The case hinged on a single missing underscore in a username.
The investigation began in 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin, when a 12-year-old girl’s mother found an inappropriate photo on her phone. The girl had been communicating with an adult male via Kik messenger using the username “fus__ro_dah” (two underscores), a reference to the “Unrelenting Force” dragon shout from the video game Skyrim.
Police subpoenaed Kik for information on the user, but mistakenly requested records for “fus_ro_dah” (one underscore). Kik provided the email address linked to that username, which traced back to Brandon Klayme in Halifax, Canada.
Despite finding no evidence of wrongdoing on his devices, Klayme was arrested in 2020, convicted in 2023, and sentenced to 18 months in prison. He served the full sentence.
While preparing his appeal, the username discrepancy was discovered. On Thursday, the court ruled to overturn the conviction, stating: “Mr. Klayme is factually innocent of the offences. He should never have been charged, let alone convicted.”
