A Canadian man who spent 18 months in jail after being convicted of charges including child luring and possession of child pornography has been formally declared innocent after his lawyers discovered a mixup in the initial investigation that pointed police at the wrong man.
Brandon Klayme was arrested by police in Halifax, Nova Scotia in February 2020, according to a CBC report (via Polygon), following an investigation by police in the US state of Wisconsin into an exchange of sexual messages, photos, and videos with a 12-year-old on the Kik instant messaging platform.
The suspect in the case had the username “fus__ro_dah,” the famous “Unrelenting Force” dragon shout from The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, but US authorities mistakenly investigated “fus_ro_dah,” with just one underscore instead of two, which led them to Klayme.
Klayme was found guilty in April 2023 and sentenced to 18 months in prison, followed by another 18 months probation. It wasn’t until earlier this year that lawyers working on his appeal noticed the discrepancy while “trying to figure out why the digital forensic evidence pointed at him given his denial of any involvement.”