Skyrim username mix-up leads to wrongful 18-month prison sentence, overturned
TL;DR
A Halifax man, Brandon Klayme, was convicted in 2023 of child‑luring and possession of child pornography based on a Kik username linked to a Skyrim dragon shout. Police pursued fus_ro_dah instead of the correct fus__ro_dah (with a double underscore), a mix-up that went unnoticed at trial. He served 18 months in prison before his lawyers uncovered the error, and an appeals court later overturned the conviction, ruling that he is factually innocent and should never have been charged.
Topics:technologycrime-and-justice#appeals-court#canada#crime-and-justice#kik#skyrim#wrongful-conviction
- An innocent man spent 18 months in prison because police misread his Skyrim user name Yahoo
- Mistaken Username Sent Man to Prison for 18 Months, Court Finds The New York Times
- A missing underscore sent innocent man to prison for 18 months Ars Technica
- 'A subtle mistake': How a single underscore led to an innocent Halifax man's conviction CBC
- How a Typo in Child-Luring Investigation Led Police to Wrong Man, Who Spent 18 Months in Prison People.com
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