A Typo Landed an Innocent Gamer in Prison for 18 Months
A Canadian man, Brandon Klayme, spent 18 months in prison after a child-luring investigation was thrown off course by a single-character typo in a police subpoena. Wisconsin investigators were seeking a Kik messaging user with a double underscore in their username, but mistakenly requested records for a similar name with only one underscore, leading them to Klayme instead of the real perpetrator. Despite no evidence being found on his devices linking him to the crime, he was arrested, tried and convicted, highlighting the serious consequences a small administrative error can have within the justice system.
The 2018 case began when a 12-year-old Wisconsin girl's mother found an inappropriate photo from an adult contacted via Kik under the username "fus__ro_dah". A subpoena error dropped one underscore, and Kik supplied an email address linked instead to Klayme, whose Canadian IP address was traced by Halifax police to his home. Although searches of his phones and laptops turned up no relevant evidence, he was charged with luring, providing sexual material to a child, and possessing child abuse imagery, convicted in 2023, and sentenced in 2024. The typo went unnoticed until his appeal team uncovered it, prompting Nova Scotia's Court of Appeal to overturn the conviction, stating he was "factually innocent" and "should never have been charged, let alone convicted."
In short
- A subpoena typo wrongly linked an innocent man to a Kik username
- Brandon Klayme served 18 months before his conviction was quashed
- Appeal court ruled he was "factually innocent" of all charges
Explained simply
Brandon Klayme, a Canadian man, was convicted and imprisoned for 18 months in connection with a child exploitation investigation. The case originated in 2018 when a young girl in Wisconsin received inappropriate contact via the messaging app Kik from an unknown adult.
Police issued a subpoena to Kik for account information, but a single-character typo in the request led the platform to supply details for the wrong account. This error caused investigators to identify and pursue Klayme instead of the actual perpetrator, and he was traced to his home in Canada.
Despite no evidence being found on his devices, Klayme was arrested, charged and convicted based on the mistaken identity. The case demonstrates how even minor administrative errors within law enforcement can have serious consequences for people who are mistakenly identified.