Skyrim Username Mix-Up Sent Innocent Man To Prison For 18 Months

If you were to pick a Kik handle with a The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim theme, you might opt for "fus ro dah," the iconic dragon shout from the game. A Canadian man named Brandon Klayme did exactly this, parking "fus_ro_dah" on the service before anyone else could grab the handle, but in the process set himself up for some heinous child sex abuse charges thanks to a case of mistaken identity. As recently revealed in the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal, Klayme was mistaken for a different Kik user named "fus__ro_dah," with two underscores instead of one.

Klayme's life was upended by a 2018 investigation and 2023 trial that completely disregarded this detail and he was sentenced to 18 months in prison with an additional 18 months of parole. The conviction was overturned last Thursday, however.


So, how did this happen? Basically, the Dane County Sheriff's Department (based in Madison, Wisconsin) that initially opened the investigation misread the username of the actual crook and subpoena'd Kik for a completely different user. Kik provided an email address, and Google pointed to the IP for that address being based in Canada. The investigation was then handed to Halifax's Regional Police. Halifax police handed that IP address to ISP Bell Aliant, who identified it as belonging to Brandon Klayme.

Police obtained a search warrant and confiscated all of his devices, but found no evidence for the charges, which included luring a person under 14 years of age and possession of child pornography. His Kik account seemingly hadn't even been used during the 2018 period where the solicitation had occurred.

Despite this lack of evidence, prosecutors were merciless, and Klayme was found guilty. A single clerical error from the beginning of the investigation condemned an innocent man to prison and branded him a sexual predator. The real culprit is only identified as a "Jay" based in California.

Per Ars Technica's coverage and the original court documents, there is no indication that the real perpetrator will be pursued at this point, or that Brandon Klayme will be rewarded any kind of compensation. Even so, we imagine that Klayme is deeply relieved he won't be carrying the legal baggage of his undue conviction for the rest of his life. As for the rest of the baggage attached to his prison sentence and the damage already done to his life and reputation, we can only hope for the best.