Leavenworth ? A prison volunteer who admitted helping a convicted murderer escape in a dog crate was sentenced Wednesday to 21 months in prison.

In a plea agreement reached last month, Toby Young, 48, of Wyandotte County, who ran a dog training program at Lansing Correctional Facility, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting aggravated escape and introducing contraband – a cellular phone – into the prison.

She also agreed to pay some $7,500 in restitution to the Department of Corrections for overtime and travel expenses.

Under the plea agreement, she could have been sentenced to up to 41 months in prison, but prosecutors and defense attorney Jim Yoakum settled on 21 months.

Prosecutor Frank Kohl told reporters he was satisfied with the deal because it ensures she will serve time in prison.

Because Young receives credit for time she already served, Yoakum said she could be released within about a year.

In the agreement, Young admitted she smuggled murderer John Manard, 27, out of prison on Feb. 12 with him hiding in a dog crate in the back of van she used as part of the Safe Harbor Prison Dog Program she ran at the penitentiary.

The two were at large for two weeks before being captured in Tennessee. Manard is back in Lansing, where he spends all put one hour a day in his cell. Officials say he could have 10 years added to his sentence.

During Wednesday’s brief sentencing hearing for Young, Judge Federick Stewart asked her, “Is there anything you want to say?”

She quietly replied, “No.”

While coming into the courtroom with family and friends, Young had declined to talk to reporters.

Her attorney has said Young pleaded guilty because she wanted to put the highly publicized case behind her and that she felt it was a fair offer.

“She’s not happy about going to prison, but she’s going to make the best of the situation. I think she’s living up to her responsibility,” Yoakum told reporters after Wednesday’s hearing.

Starting in 2004, Young ran the Safe Harbor program, using inmates to train dogs from area shelters to be adopted by families. Manard, serving life for a 1996 Johnson County murder, was a trainer. Prison officials have continued the program.

Prison officials said she took advantage of the trust she gained while running the program to drive Manard out of the prison. A guard at the gate who recognized Young didn’t conduct a thorough search of the van before letting it leave the prison. That guard was fired but later was allowed to resign.

Prosecutors say Young brought a cell phone into the prison on Jan. 31. Investigators believe Manard used the smuggled phone to call the resort in Alpine, Tenn., where the pair stayed. He also arranged for the pickup truck in which they were captured.

The two were arrested Feb. 24 about 60 miles from where they were staying as they tried to outrun police in the truck on Interstate 75 between Chattanooga and Knoxville.