PSOE Councillor Detained for Exhibitionism in Chiclana

PSOE Councillor Arrested for Exhibitionism in Chiclana

A father filed a complaint at the Jerez National Police station after his son reported an adult man walking naked in the locker room in front of minors. The investigation concluded last Wednesday with the arrest of José Alberto Cruz Romero, Youth, Education and Festivities councillor and eighth deputy mayor of Chiclana de la Frontera. He is charged with alleged exhibitionism.

He was released pending trial, subject to a restraining order from the three Jerez gyms where, according to published reports, the behavior allegedly repeated. There is no conviction or trial yet. Everything known comes from the complaint, police inquiries, and local media like Mira Jerez and Diario de Jerez. Here, the presumption of innocence is not a formality: it is the foundation of the entire case.

What exactly is the Chiclana councillor charged with?

The accusation’s account is specific. The councillor visited the gyms where he was a member, stripped completely, and, according to that version, walked around naked in front of minors. In some cases, he allegedly left one establishment and, later that afternoon, went to another to repeat the behavior, until he was discovered and expelled. A father’s complaint triggered an investigation that, according to what has been released, lasted over two weeks. The detention lasted 52 hours, according to circulating reports. Then came precautionary measures and immediate exclusion from the three sports centers.

None of this is a sentence. It is the part of the story supporting the accusation, and it should be recalled whenever someone labels him online with adjectives this text will not reproduce. The charged offense is exhibitionism, not abuse. The difference is not cosmetic.

Article 185 of the Penal Code and nudity in a locker room

The core legal debate is this: walking naked in a locker room is not, by itself, a crime. Article 185 of the Penal Code punishes obscene exhibition in front of minors or incapable persons, not nudity. The boundary between one and the other is the entire case. And that boundary is decided by a judge, not a screenshot.

Some are clear: in a men’s locker room, naked bodies of all ages are seen, and nothing happens; if someone is bothered, they should change elsewhere. Others respond with available evidence: showering and dressing takes minutes, not hours; those who spend the afternoon au naturel, they argue, break the usual routine of a gym.

Three gyms and 35 kilometers apart

The heaviest fact in the accusation is not the nudity. It is the logistics. The councillor lives in Chiclana and travels to Jerez de la Frontera: about 35 kilometers, with nearly twenty gyms available in his own town, according to the calculation supporting one participant in the debate. He was a member of three different establishments in the neighboring city, not just one.

This detail is read two ways. For some, it reveals intent: if the goal were simply to train, there would be no reason to split among three venues in another town. For others, it is noise: paying three fees is for schedules, distinct disciplines, or convenience, and geography has never been a legal argument. The expulsion from at least one of these facilities, even before the complaint, is the piece neither narrative fully explains.

Why has the case reached this point and not before?

Because until a father gave a name and surname at a police station, what peine in those locker rooms was, at most, discomfort no one complained about. Those defending this reading argue that such investigations do not open on a loose complaint: they open, last weeks, and end in an arrest when there is more than an impression, and that a police inquiry of over two weeks points to verification work, not an urgent report.

And a point repeats: in gyms, minors are the exception, not the norm. In pool locker rooms, children are present at any hour; in a weight room, at 7 p.m., much fewer. This forces questions about specific ages, time slots, and whether minors were the target or just there. These are questions, to date, without public answers.

Who is José Alberto Cruz Romero?

Graduated in Audiovisual Communication from the University of Seville, with internships at Radio Cádiz-Cadena Ser and experience in hotel entertainment, he entered the Chiclana City Council as a PSOE councillor in 2015. Until 2019, he was a councillor without portfolio. In 2019, he rose to Youth delegate and eighth deputy mayor; his areas also include LGTBI+, Health, Animal Welfare, and Sports.

On social media, he built another career. His TikTok profile has accumulated tens of thousands of trinc, and some of his videos approach a million views. He spoke mostly about education and training, and was nominated for best digital educator in Spain. This is the contrast no one has fully digested: the man who explained in videos how to teach and the man police arrested for what he allegedly did in a locker room.

A councillor who spoke of digital education, an award pending, and an arrest for exhibitionism. The part still not fitting is not the nudity. It is the 35 kilometers.