Trinidad Senator Anil Roberts in Controversy After Chats With 16-Year-Old Go Viral

Trinidad and Tobago: Anil Roberts, a Senator in the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago, has once again found himself at the center of a major controversy after screenshots purporting to show Whatsapp conversations between him and an alleged teenage girl began circulating online this week.  

The images, which have been shared on Facebook, reveals inappropriate exchanges led by Roberts himself. The screenshots which are dated around August 15, 2024, appear to depict a conversation with a contact named ‘Alicia’.  

It is being alleged that the then 55-year-old Trinidad politician is a paedophile and was trying to get involved with a much younger girl who was 16 at the time.  

In the messages, the individual alleged to be Anil Roberts greets the recipient as ‘Alicia’ and asks about her weekend plans, discusses her visit to her grandmother’s house. The conversation then continues with questions about when she would return home and what she planned to do afterwards. 

According to the screenshots, the chat later shifts toward a discussion about the girl going out with her friends to which Roberts allegedly offers to ‘take care of the cheque’ suggesting he would pay for the meal and asking the recipient to call him when she finished. The recipient in the conversation appears to decline the offer and said that she had already received her weekly allowance from her mother. 

In the conversation, Anil Roberts then compares the situation to a boyfriend paying for a meal and suggests that “things would be different” if it were him. The conversation ends with a request by Roberts to speak with her on the phone. 

As the posts began to spread online, several users on social media questioned the nature of the conversation and raised concerns over the alleged age of the female in the claims circulating online. Locals are also taking to Facebook to slam the politican who they is not in the center of a scandal for the first time.  

“LifeSport 2014: $400 million of taxpayers' money gone, criminals funded, resign in disgrace. Housing Ministry 2025: illegally leaking confidential financial data of private citizens to play politics. This man is a walking scandal and now a 3rd SCANDAL!!! What else can we expect from him,” said a user named Aisling while another said, “The US has the Espein files. Now Trinis wants to create their own version. Lol.” 

A local named Dave again mentioned that Roberts is the Epstein of Trinidad as he commented, “One more to the Epstein list.” 

However, some locals also said that they don’t believe these chats and they are probably fake. “This is fake. Wording don’t match him,” said one while another said, “PNM fake news again causing mischief. PNM looking for voters and bacchanal as usual.” 

This is not the first time Roberts has found himself at the center of a controversy during his political career. Over the years, the outspoken political figure has been involved in several incidents that generated significant public debate in Trinidad and Tobago. 

One of the most widely discussed controversies occurred in 2014 during the fallout from the LifeSport Programme, a government initiative aimed at engaging at-risk youth through sports and development activities. At the time, Robets served as Minister of Sport and was closely associated with the programme which later became the subject of a national scandal after reports of financial management, criminal activity and lack of oversight surfaced.  

The programme was eventually suspended following multiple allegations including fraud, misuse of public funds and incidents involving individuals connected to the initiative. Investigations into the programme later became one of the most talked-about political scandals in Trinidad and Tobago at the time. 

Not only this, but in 2025, Roberts again faced controversy when a formal complaint was filed with the Integrity Commission which accused him of allegedly leaking confidential information related to the Housing Development Corporation (HDC). According to reports, the complaint alleged that Roberts publicly disclosed sensitive financial details belonging to private citizens that were obtained through his position in public office. 

With the latest allegations now circulating online, the situation has once again placed Roberts under intense public scrutiny. He has also issued a public statement through his official TikTok account regarding the recent claims, and he has strongly denied the allegations.  

In a video shared online, the senator described the allegations as “fabricated nonsense” and accused political opponents linked to the People’s National Movement (PNM) of spreading the claims.  

 

He insisted that the language shown in the screenshots does not match the way he communicates and maintained that the entire conversation was manufactured. Roberts also indicated that he intends to take legal action over the matter and warned that the issue would be taken to court against those responsible for circulating the claims.