A man in Nova Scotia was wrongly imprisoned for 18 months due to a crucial error in identifying a username related to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The case hinged on the username "fus__ro_dah," a reference to a dragon shout from Bethesda's 2011 RPG. However, police identified Brandon Klayme, whose username differed by a single underscore: "fus_ro_dah."
Halifax Regional Police arrested Klayme in 2020 following an investigation by Wisconsin authorities into a suspect soliciting images of a minor on the messaging platform Kik. While police pursued Klayme based on the mistaken username, an interview with the victim to corroborate his involvement never occurred, according to court documents. Klayme was convicted in 2023 and sentenced to 18 months in jail, followed by probation.
The critical error was discovered earlier this year by Klayme's attorney, Zeb Brown, during the appeal process. "We noticed the problem when we were working on the appeal arguments this spring," Brown told CBC News. "We were trying to figure out why the digital forensic evidence pointed at him given his denial of any involvement."
An appeal panel subsequently acquitted Klayme of all charges, vacating the conviction. The panel stated that "Mr. Klayme is factually innocent of the offences. He should never have been charged, let alone convicted." Klayme described the mistaken finding as "a subtle mistake that changed the course of my life."