An investigation has begun in Canada – how a mistake in a Skyrim fan's nickname led to an innocent man spending 18 months in prison

Canadian officials have launched an investigation into how an innocent man ended up spending 18 months behind bars after police confused his username, inspired by Skyrim, with a nearly identical account.

Brandon Klayme was acquitted of all charges on July 23 after the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal ruled that he was "factually innocent" and should never have been charged or convicted in the first place.

Nova Scotia Attorney General Scott Armstrong has requested a detailed briefing from the province's Public Prosecution Service and promised to prevent a similar case from happening again.

Scott Armstrong, Nova Scotia Attorney General:

I'm very concerned about this. I'm not sure how something like this can happen within the system. I've asked the Public Prosecution Service to give me a specific briefing on all the steps in this case. And once I have that, I want to make some decisions of what the next steps will be.

The case began with an investigation into messages sent to a 12-year-old girl in Wisconsin through the Kik messaging app.

The suspect used the username "fus__ro_dah," a reference to the iconic Dragon Shout from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Wisconsin police, however, requested information for "fus_ro_dah," which had one fewer underscore and belonged to Klayme.

That account led investigators to Klayme's email address and IP address in Nova Scotia. Halifax Regional Police later searched his home and seized phones and laptops, but found no evidence connecting him to the girl, the messages, or the images involved in the case.

Despite this, Klayme was convicted of three charges in April 2023. He received an 18-month prison sentence in January 2024 and served the entire term.

The Court of Appeal noted that the correct username would likely have led investigators to someone in California. The court also found that the discrepancy between the usernames was available during Klayme's original trial but somehow went unnoticed.

Canada's state broadcaster reported that Armstrong plans to examine how the error passed through police, prosecutors, defense lawyers, and the court.

Armstrong has not ruled out a public inquiry and said the province is willing to meet with Klayme or his representatives. According to The Canadian Press, there have been no discussions yet about potential compensation.