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Innocent man spends 18 months in jail over an underscore in username. Here’s what happened
The man who was earlier convicted of luring a child and possession of child pornography was acquitted.
An innocent man spent 18 months in jail on the charges of child luring and possession of child pornography over an underscore in his Skyrim-inspired username. Brandon Klayme, from Halifax, Canada, who has now been acquitted, was earlier convicted in an investigation that began in Wisconsin in 2018.
What had happened?
Klayme was arrested in 2020 when an investigation led Halifax Regional Police to him. He was accused and later convicted of exchanging intimate images and having conversation of sexual nature with a 12-year-old girl.
The police traced the man's username, leading to Klayme's arrest. However, the username he used was “fus_ro_dah” and the real accused went by “fus__ro_dah” - two underscored after “fus” instead of one.
"The Wisconsin police identified Mr. Klayme as the offender using the incorrect username. His conviction rested on the internet username being attributed to him,” the appeal panel wrote, reported CBC News.
Based on the username, he was found guilty of “child luring, making sexually explicit content available to a minor and possession of child pornography” after a trial conducted in April 2023 in Dartmouth provincial court. He was sentenced to 18 months in jail.
How did the truth come to light?
“We noticed the problem when we were working on the appeal arguments this spring,” Klayme’s defence lawyer, Zeb Brown, told the outlet. “We were trying to figure out why the digital forensic evidence pointed at him given his denial of any involvement.”
That is when this mistake was discovered. Klayme submitted an affidavit for appeal stating that a Wisconsin police subpoena containing a “subtle mistake” completely changed his life.
"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 offence or an error during the trial made the verdict unsafe," the appeal panel wrote.
"In these circumstances, Mr. Klayme is factually innocent of the offences. He should never have been charged, let alone convicted."
According to the outlet, the appeal court said there was no evidence linking Klayme to the girl. In addition to his acquittal, the ancillary orders against him were vacated.
“Discrepancy went completely unnoticed”
“In the latter stages of preparing my appeal arguments, it was discovered that the subpoena contained a subtle mistake that changed the course of my life,” Klayme told Dexerto.
“Instead of requesting details for the username ‘fus__ro_dah’, the subpoena requested details for the username ‘fus_ro_dah’. The police officer did not notice that the perpetrator’s Kik username ‘fus__ro_dah’ contains a double underscore. This discrepancy went completely unnoticed at the trial. It was never brought to the attention of the trial judge.”
It is unclear if Klayme will seek compensation for his wrongful imprisonment.
