CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) -- A Virginia Beach man has been convicted of sending annoying text messages to an ex-girlfriend.

A Chesapeake judge fined Brian Query $50, plus $72 for court fees, last week. The charge carried a maximum fine of $500. It's a misdemeanor to call another person's telephone intending to annoy them.

According to a Pew Research, about 32% of young people receive annoying, aggressive or threatening text messages.

Cierra Johnson has received many annoying text messages and says, one time, it even got threatening.

“This girl, she was upset with me and she kept telling me ‘Don’t come near me or bad things are going to happen,’" recalled Johnson.

Experts say you should think twice before sending that message. If it's considered harassing, it can get you in trouble.

"With the text and blackberries, people can send off annoying messages and think they can do it in a vacuum,” said Chris Amos of the Norfolk Police Department. “But I've got news for ya; that's till considered threatening and you can be charged criminally."

"It’s a class C misdemeanor to annoy someone over the telephone and it's the same law they're using to prosecute text messaging," added ODU professor Kyle Nicholas.

In July, Query said he didn't know which text landed him in hot water, but he knew the complaint came from a former girlfriend. A charge against Query for profane language was dismissed, but he was fined $252 for failing to show up in court.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)