A missing underscore in a Skyrim-inspired username sent an innocent man to prison for 18 months

Q: How did the single-underscore typo in the Kik username lead investigators to Brandon Klayme?

Police served Kik a court order with the wrong username, using "fus_ro_dah" (one underscore) instead of the suspect's actual "fus__ro_dah" (two underscores). Kik returned the email address and IP for the one-underscore account, the IP traced to Klayme's Halifax home, and Canadian authorities executed searches and seized his devices, which led to his arrest and later conviction.

Q: What digital evidence did Canadian authorities obtain after tracing the IP address to Klayme’s Halifax home?

They conducted searches of Klayme’s home and seized his devices after tracing the IP address to his Halifax residence. No prohibited material was found on the seized devices.

Q: Why did the absence of prohibited material on seized devices not prevent Klayme’s conviction?

Because investigators relied on Kik account data that, due to a one-underscore typo in the court order, returned an email and IP address tied to Klayme, authorities traced that IP to his home, seized his devices, and proceeded to charge and convict him even though no prohibited material was found. The conviction stood until his defence later discovered the username error during appeal, which led the panel to acquit him as factually innocent.

Q: When and how was the username discrepancy discovered by Klayme’s legal team?

The discrepancy was discovered in early 2026 when Klayme’s defence attorney, Zeb Brown, began preparing the appeal. While reviewing the digital evidence to understand why it pointed at Klayme, Brown noticed the username error: police had submitted "fus_ro_dah" (one underscore) instead of the actual "fus__ro_dah" (two underscores).

Police accidentally submitted the wrong username to Kik, which returned data for an innocent man whose IP address led investigators to Halifax.

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Hassam Nasir

Tech Reporter

Published Aug 1, 2026 10:50 PM CDT

1 minute & 15 seconds read time

TL;DR: A Nova Scotia man, Brandon Klayme, served 18 months in prison after police misrecorded a Skyrim-inspired Kik username-submitting "fus_ro_dah" instead of "fus__ro_dah"-leading investigators to Klayme's Halifax IP. He was convicted in 2023 but acquitted on appeal in 2026 as factually innocent.

Voice: Hassam NasirSpeed

0:00 / 2:50

A man in Nova Scotia spent 18 months in prison for a crime he did not commit, and the reason ultimately came down to a single underscore in a Skyrim-inspired username on a messaging app. Brandon Klayme was arrested in 2020, convicted in 2023, and served his full sentence before his legal team finally spotted the mistake while preparing his appeal earlier this year.

The case began in 2018 when Wisconsin authorities started investigating a man on the messaging platform Kik who had been soliciting images from a 12-year-old girl. The suspect's username was "fus__ro_dah," a reference to the Unrelenting Force dragon shout from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. When police submitted a court order to Kik to identify the account, they accidentally included a different username in the document ("fus_ro_dah"), with one underscore instead of two. Kik returned the email address and IP address associated with that account, which led investigators to Klayme.

A missing underscore in a Skyrim-inspired username sent an innocent man to prison for 18 months 2

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From there, the investigation moved through Canadian authorities, who traced the IP address to Klayme's home in Halifax, conducted searches, and seized his devices. No prohibited material was found, but that did not stop the case from proceeding to trial. Klayme was later convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison, followed by 18 months of probation.

It was not until Klayme's defence attorney, Zeb Brown, began preparing the appeal in early 2026 that anyone noticed the discrepancy. "We were trying to figure out why the digital forensic evidence pointed at him given his denial of any involvement," Brown told CBC News.

A missing underscore in a Skyrim-inspired username sent an innocent man to prison for 18 months 3

The appeal panel acquitted Klayme on all charges, saying, "Mr. Klayme is factually innocent of the offences. He should never have been charged, let alone convicted." Authorities now believe the correct username likely belongs to someone in California. In an affidavit for his appeal, Klayme described the police error as "a subtle mistake that changed the course of my life."

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Question #1

How did the single-underscore typo in the Kik username lead investigators to Brandon Klayme?

Question #2

What digital evidence did Canadian authorities obtain after tracing the IP address to Klayme’s Halifax home?

Question #3

Why did the absence of prohibited material on seized devices not prevent Klayme’s conviction?

Question #4

When and how was the username discrepancy discovered by Klayme’s legal team?

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As for other Skyrim news, last month, publisher Bethesda shared a major studio update outlining its lineup of games following the mass layoffs at Xbox, confirming that The Elder Scrolls VI remains the studio's top priority. The company also recently said that the layoffs will not affect the game's development roadmap.