BOISE, Idaho — Bonneville County Sheriff’s Detective Korey Payne has been selected as Idaho’s recipient of the Justice Department’s Hometown Hero Award, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho.

U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced the recognition on June 3, saying Payne was selected for extensive work combating child exploitation and for dedicated service to the community.

The award was presented as part of Freedom 250, a Justice Department initiative connected to America’s 250th birthday. The Idaho office said Payne is a Bonneville County Sheriff’s detective assigned to Idaho’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Payne has nearly two decades of law-enforcement experience and has led or played a major role in hundreds of investigations that resulted in the identification and prosecution of offenders who sexually exploited children.

The office also credited Payne with mentoring and training other investigators and spending time teaching parents and children internet-safety practices intended to prevent exploitation and victimization.

“Protecting our vulnerable children is among the highest priorities for the United States Attorney’s Office and our collective law enforcement community,” Davis said in the release. “Without the outstanding work of Detective Payne, many of these crimes would go unsolved and additional children would be victimized.”

Davis said Payne’s experience, expertise and commitment to protecting children make him a hero for the community and the state.

Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador also praised Payne’s work with the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, saying Payne “does some of the hardest work in all of law enforcement.”

“He has confronted what others look away from, built the cases that hold offenders accountable, and brought a rare combination of skill, relentlessness, and compassion to every investigation,” Labrador said.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Payne received a letter of commendation, a commemorative Hometown Hero medallion and a United States Attorney’s Office challenge coin.

ThinBlueNews is limiting this report to the award, public-service recognition and source-attributed child-protection work described by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. No victim names or additional case details are included.

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ThinBlueNews will update this story if the U.S. Attorney’s Office or Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office releases additional public recognition details.