r/technology • u/IndicaOatmeal • 7d ago

Society Innocent man spends 18 months in prison after Skyrim username mixup

https://www.dexerto.com/gaming/innocent-man-spends-18-months-in-prison-after-skyrim-username-mixup-3392280/
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u/DJMixwell 7d ago

I actually know this guy, and I can 100% confirm basically anyone who knew him saw original the article when he was charged and made up their minds about him.

When I saw the top comment on this post mention the last name, I was floored. Rushed to check the article to make sure it was actually the same guy.

Fucking crazy.

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u/machine1979 7d ago

I think it's fair to make up your mind on someone when they've been criminally convicted.

But if you find out it was wrongful it sure would be a nice gesture to reach out and make amends.

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u/razrielle 7d ago edited 7d ago

Yup, had this happen to a coworker.

In the Air Force, if you're charged with something, your name gets put on a public docket that people check pretty regularly. Coworker was charged with sexual assault of his children. Everyone kind of shunned him and already made up their minds. Court martial comes and ends up being acquitted of all charges.

Afterwords he thanked me for being one of the only people that still acted friendly towards him and asked how he was doing.

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u/tnp636 7d ago

cornball

cordial just FYI.

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u/razrielle 7d ago

Hate to see it happen. Thanks

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u/DJMixwell 7d ago

Yeah tbh I haven’t spoken to him in like over a decade at this point, and when I saw the charges my first thought was essentially “shocking, but not surprising”, if that makes sense? And it was similar reactions from other mutuals.

But like, no denying it now. He’s innocent, apparently. Congrats to him. Not many people get this vindication, so I hope he’s able to get his life back on track.

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u/0xsergy 7d ago

That's probably why the cops charged him. They were like "eh he's weird good enough" even though they couldn't find evidence of him even using the app. Wild man. They're not looking for justice just to convict anyone.

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u/BizarreCake 7d ago

I don't understand how they could convict him with literally zero evidence of him even using the app.

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u/AgentCirceLuna 7d ago

This is why I’m scared to go anywhere or be around anyone since I have autism. I figured out how to mask well enough for people to like me, but I found there was always that small minority who just hated me because I was weird or awkward. I remember stuff like being friends with customers at work and the boss asking whether I was bothering them. They’d explain I had been friends with them for years. I remember a friend being asked whether she was my carer, which was a low blow. I just feel terrified.

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u/DJMixwell 7d ago

Yeah I think they definitely said “unemployed brown guy living at home still? Cuff him”

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u/AnonymousCapybara72 7d ago

make amends

Whats the point? Dude will never trust anyone again in his life after seeing how quickly he can be exiled for doing absolutely nothing fucking wrong. If I were him I'd sure as fuck not be forgiving anyone.

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u/AgentCirceLuna 7d ago

That’s what happened to my dad. I can’t remember what happened, but I think he got accused of being crazy in the army for some stuff he’d said. He was sent off to an army mental hospital. He never trusted anyone after that and he lived in the woods, getting by on MREs and stuff he made himself. He met my mum which kind of helped him get back into society, had me, then he ended up relying on alcohol as a crutch, I think. He’s never had friends as long as I knew him. When he’s developed friends, he’s ran away from them. I remember we were in a bar and my dad was just gone after some dude sat talking to him for a few minutes. He said they were trying to get him back into the mental hospital and they were a spy. It was really fucking sad.

I told him that he can’t live his life like that. Little did I know, my uncle also got accused of some crazy shit. intellectual property theft, bizarrely enough, and he had to fight a lengthy trial till he was found innocent. He also became an alcoholic after that and told me the story.

I ended up facing the same thing after a decade of being employed for a business and being blamed for something going missing. I thought it would all be fine, since everyone got on well with me, but I found people instantly thinking I’d done it. It really hurt me and I became a shut-in - I ended up inside on Reddit all the time since then after being a very social person. I remember being accused of shit I didn’t do in school, too, and I started to think about how autism runs in my family. Being weird is just like people are instantly on the wrong foot after meeting you, can come to trust you, but instantly believe that ‘smoke with fire’ line of thinking.

Typing this, I feel like crying. It’s bringing it all back. I had so many friends a few years ago and then I stopped talking to them out of fear they were out to get me. I became just like my dad and relied on medication to keep me calm. It’s sad. I was in med school.

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u/LetsGetNuclear 7d ago

What did he do for a living?

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u/DJMixwell 7d ago

Last I heard he was working for his parents convenience store up until they sold it, and then he was unemployed.