Canadian officials are investigating how an innocent man spent 18 months in prison after police missed an underscore in his Skyrim username.

Archived version: https://archive.is/20260807200424/https://www.dexerto.com/gaming/canada-investigating-how-skyrim-username-mixup-sent-innocent-man-to-prison-for-18-months-3396037/


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[–] [S] 78 points 2 months ago (5 children)

Incompetence all around.

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.

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

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  • [–] 53 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

    That was batshit crazy. His username was a universal phrase from the game. But they had possession of his device.

    They weren't incompetent, they just didn't want to continue looking for a perp

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  • [–] 20 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    Wtf? I think it's past time to lay, "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." It may be malice and incompetence, but it's been malice for a really long time. Maybe since the thought was formulated.

    Eta: https://inorderbookseries.com/authors/robert-hanlon

    Clue

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  • [–] 12 points 2 months ago* (1 child)

    Honestly I have come to the opposite conclusion. If someone harms me I assume malice. I'm right more often than not.

    The whe premise of being generous and assuming it's just a whoopsie is naive at best and suicidal at worst.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago

    I want to caution, here. I was speaking of governments, not individual people, where that can hold true, but not necessarily is true. Certainly in societies that set the system to a zero sum game, it's more likely to be true, but there are still really good people in the world. And we just can't know without some risk, and people still err. It's the human condition. Discernment is cultivated.

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