Skyrim-inspired username mix-up on Kik lands an innocent man in prison
The devil lies in the details
Image by Cybernews
- Brandon Klayme was acquitted in July 2026 after serving an 18-month sentence for child abuse charges.
- Investigators mistook 'fus_ro_dah' for 'fus__ro_dah,' missing one underscore in a Skyrim-inspired Kik username.
- Police seized devices but found no evidence Klayme contacted the Wisconsin child or used Kik then.
- The case shows small digital evidence errors can cause wrongful convictions and serious personal harm.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
Police have misidentified a suspect in a child abuse case by failing to notice a missing underscore in his Skyrim-inspired username on the Kik messaging service.
Brandon Klayme from Halifax, Canada, was convicted of 3 child abuse charges and received an 18-month jail sentence in 2024, which he fully served, before his defense team noticed a small mistake in a subpoena, Ars Technica reports.
Klayme was wrongfully accused due to his username referencing the “Fus Ro Dah” Dragon Shout from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
Klayme named himself “fus_ro_dah,” with a single underscore after “fus.” Meanwhile, the suspect, an adult male who sent his inappropriate photos to a 12-year-old Wisconsin girl, went by “fus__ro_dah,” with two underscores after the first syllable.
Canadian investigators missed the underscore and, using an email address provided by Kik, tracked down Klayme in Nova Scotia, where they searched his home and seized personal devices.
Police didn’t find evidence of Klayme’s wrongdoing, including proof of conversations with the underage girl or inappropriate photos. Investigators couldn’t even prove that Klayme used Kik during the period when the suspect was talking to the victim.
Nevertheless, Klayme was arrested and convicted of 3 charges, including luring an underage person by means of telecommunication, providing sexually explicit material to a child, and possession of child pornography. He was found guilty.
Initially, the username mix-up was even missed by Klayme’s defense team, which only realized the mistake during the appeal process.
The Court of Appeal acquitted Klayme on all charges in July 2026, vacating his sentence
