A single missing underscore in a Skyrim-inspired username landed a Canadian man in prison for 18 months. Brandon Klayme was wrongly identified during a 2018 investigation where police were searching for a specific Kik account user. A small but certainly not insignificant typo led police on the hunt for the wrong man.
Years later, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal overturned Klayme's convictions, declaring that he was "factually innocent" and should never have even been charged with the crime in the first place. This bizarre case shows just how much damage a seemingly insignificant detail can cause, especially when that one mistaken username is the pillar of an investigation.
It All Started With a Skyrim Username
The investigation itself began in Wisconsin in 2018 after authorities discovered a minor engaged in an inappropriate discussion with an adult. We'll spare you the details, as they are quite harrowing, but all you really need to know is that the conversation's content certainly warranted a criminal investigation.
Unfortunately for Brandon Klayme, however, that investigation led straight to him. Investigators traced the conversation back to Kik username fus__ro_dah, a reference to Fus Ro Dah, the infamous Dragon Shout from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Note the two underscores between the words 'fus' and 'ro' in said username.
When police submitted their request to Kik for more information on the offending user, the username was entered as fus_ro_dah, with only a single underscore between the first two words. Kik responded to the username they were given by police, handing over the account information of Kik user Brandon Klayme, a Canadian man living in Nova Scotia.
The difference between both usernames was a single underscore, but that single underscore completely changed the course of Klayme's life.
Klayme was traced by police, who seized his phones, computers, and other digital devices in search of the offending conversation—or any other offending conversations or images, for that matter. Nothing was found. Although there was no relevant evidence connecting Klayme to the victim in question, circumstantial and digital evidence was enough for the court, and he was arrested in 2020, convicted in 2023, and sentenced in 2024.
Klayme was sentenced to a total of 18 months' imprisonment, followed by an 18-month probationary sentence. Klayme served his entire 18-month sentence until the offending typo was discovered by his lawyers during his appeal. Once this seemingly simple mistake was identified, prosecutors sided with Klayme, and the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal overturned his convictions.
The order overturning Klayme's sentence stated that "If the correct username had been used to obtain the subscriber information from Kik, the Crown could not have proven Mr. Klayme was fus__ro_dah with two underscores." The ruling further stated that had the username been correct, Mr Klayme "Would not have been arrested and charged with these offenses."
The appeals court went further than merely overturning Klayme's conviction, making it clear that this was no ordinary acquittal and leaving little doubt about his innocence: "Mr. Klayme should not have been convicted of these offenses. This is not a situation where an acquittal is entered because the Crown has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the essential elements of an offense or an error during the trial made the verdict unsafe. In these circumstances, Mr. Klayme is factually innocent of the offenses. He should never have been charged, let alone convicted."
This was no doubt relieving for Klayme to hear, but unfortunately, it came 18 months too late. This case not only highlights the importance of factual consistency in the court, the dangers of seemingly small mistakes, and the significance of internet safety, but it also brings to light a troubling question: if police had entered the correct username to begin with, where would the investigation have led?