A missing underscore sent innocent man to prison for 18 months

A missing underscore in a subpoena sent an innocent Nova Scotia man to prison for 18 months before an appeals court overturned his conviction Thursday, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal said. The case began in 2018 when Wisconsin investigators sought records for the Kik username "fus__ro_dah" but accidentally requested data for "fus_ro_dah." The error led police to Brandon Klayme in Halifax. Canadian police arrested Klayme in 2020 on child sex abuse charges despite finding no evidence of the crime on his digital devices. He was convicted after a trial in 2023 and sentenced in 2024 to 18 months in prison, serving the full term. The username mistake was discovered while Klayme prepared his appeal. The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal overturned the conviction Thursday, writing that Klayme is factually innocent of the offences and should never have been charged, let alone convicted.