Article 235 Spanish Criminal Code: Aggravated theft

1. Theft shall be punished with imprisonment of one to three years:

1. Where things of artistic, historical, cultural or scientific value are taken.

2. Where the things are articles of prime necessity and a situation of shortage is caused.

3. Where the things are conduits, cabling, equipment or components of infrastructures for the supply of electricity, of hydrocarbons or of telecommunications services, or other things intended for the provision of services of general interest, and serious damage is caused to them.

4. Where the things are agricultural or livestock products, or the instruments or means used to obtain them, provided that the offence is committed on agricultural or livestock holdings and the value of what is taken exceeds 400 euros.

5. Where it is of special seriousness, having regard to the value of the effects taken, or where loss of special significance is caused.

6. Where it places the victim or the family of the victim in a serious economic situation, or where it has been carried out abusing their personal circumstances or their situation of helplessness, or taking advantage of the occurrence of an accident or of the existence of a general risk or danger to the community which has weakened the defence of the person offended or facilitated the commission of the offence with impunity.

7. Where, at the time of offending, the offender had been convicted by an enforceable judgment of at least three less serious or serious offences covered by this Title, provided that they are of the same nature. Criminal records which have been cancelled, or which ought to have been cancelled, shall not be taken into account.

8. Where minors under sixteen years of age are used for the commission of the offence.

9. Where the offender or offenders take part in the acts as members of a criminal organisation or group devoted to the commission of offences covered by this Title, provided that they are of the same nature.

10. Where the objects taken are mobile telephones. Likewise, any other mobile device for communication, or for the mass storage of digital information capable of containing personal data and information. For the purposes of this number, those which are on sale, in storage or on display in commercial establishments shall not be regarded as included.

2. The penalty indicated in the preceding paragraph shall be imposed in its upper half where two or more of the circumstances provided for in it are present.

Working translation prepared by Société Juridique from the consolidated Spanish text published by the Official State Gazette. It has no official status: the only authoritative version is the Spanish original, available at the Official State Gazette and reproduced verbatim in our Spanish-language entry for this provision. Source: Organic Law 10/1995 of 23 November, the Spanish Criminal Code.