Home / Crime and Justice / Underscore Mistake Sent Man to Prison for 18 Months
Underscore Mistake Sent Man to Prison for 18 Months
28 Jul
Summary
- A single underscore difference in a username led to a wrongful conviction.
- The man served 18 months in prison before his conviction was overturned.
- Police investigated the wrong username, leading to an innocent man's arrest.
An 18-month prison sentence was overturned for a Nova Scotia man after a single-character error in a username was discovered. Brandon Klayme was wrongly convicted of child sex abuse charges stemming from a 2018 investigation. Police in Wisconsin were searching for a user named "fus__ro_dah" on Kik but inadvertently requested records for "fus_ro_dah" (one underscore difference).
This typographical error led authorities to Klayme, whose digital devices yielded no evidence linking him to the crime. Despite this, he was arrested in 2020, convicted in 2023, and served his full 18-month sentence. The mistake remained undiscovered until his appeal process began.
Upon review, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal vacated Klayme's conviction, stating he was factually innocent. The court noted that proper investigation would have pointed to an individual in California. The case underscores how a seemingly minor mistake can have devastating consequences.
