An ex-probation official must serve eight years in prison for helping a drug trafficking ring operate from within the Dallas County jail.
Selena Ball of DeSoto was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Dallas.
The 30-year-old Ball in April pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, cocaine.
Ball was among 11 people indicted a year ago in what authorities say was a drug ring operating in Dallas and from behind bars involving inmates.
Investigators say Ball began a romantic relationship with an inmate, assigned to her for electronic monitoring, while he was held facing drug-related counts.
Prosecutors say Ball failed to report violations following the release of the suspect, who later pleaded guilty in the drug case and awaits sentencing.
