A missing underscore sent innocent man to prison for 18 months
Summary
A man from Nova Scotia named Brandon Klayme was wrongly convicted and spent 18 months in prison due to a mistake involving a missing underscore in a username. The police confused two similar usernames in a child-luring case, which led to his arrest despite no evidence linking him to the crime. His conviction was overturned after the error was discovered during his appeal.Key Facts
- The case started in 2018 after a 12-year-old girl in Wisconsin communicated with an adult on the messaging app Kik.
- Police sought information on a username with two underscores: “fus__ro_dah,” but mistakenly requested info on “fus_ro_dah” with only one underscore.
- Kik provided data linked to Brandon Klayme in Canada, who was then investigated and arrested.
- No evidence of the crime was found on Klayme’s devices, and there was no proof he accessed Kik during the relevant time.
- Klayme was charged with luring a child under 14, providing sexually explicit material to a child, and possession of child pornography.
- Despite the lack of evidence, Klayme was convicted in 2023 and served 18 months in prison in 2024.
- The username mistake was found during his appeal process, leading the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal to overturn his conviction.
- The court stated that Klayme was factually innocent and should never have been charged or convicted.
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