December 2017 South Shields radio presenter locked up for sex with underage girl A radio DJ who had sex with an underage girl has been put behind bars. Ben Cairns was working at a local North Tyneside-based station more than a decade ago when the teen victim saw adverts about his programme. Newcastle Crown Court heard he “befriended and groomed” her after they met and that he went on to have sex with her. Cairns, 38, of Osborne Avenue, South Shields, pleaded guilty to two offences of sexual activity with a child and one of grooming. The court heard the victim now feels “ashamed, angry and upset” at what happened to her. She said she felt “powerless” to stop it. She said in a victim impact statement: “I have gone through hell.” Judge Sarah Mallett said the victim at the time was “too young to make an informed decision”. Judge Sarah Mallett sentenced him to four years behind bars with lifelong registration as a sex offender and placed him on sexual harm prevention order.