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

A Halifax man was wrongly convicted and spent 18 months in prison after police mixed up a suspect’s Kik username by one underscore.

That error led investigators to Brandon Klayme’s Google account and IP address, even though there was no evidence linking him to the chats.

He was convicted of child luring and possession of child sexual abuse material, but his lawyers later found the username mismatch.

The case raises concerns about how a tiny investigative mistake can wrongly implicate an innocent person and how much user data platforms can reveal to police.