ATLANTA (AP) – Authorities say a former U.S. postal worker is charged with delaying and destroying mail after investigators found about 4,500 pieces of mail in the woods outside Atlanta.

Prosecutors say 25-year-old Thomas O. Beaurem of McDonough was indicted by a federal grand jury on the charge. He has pleaded not guilty.

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Investigators say they found the mail in a wooded area in Decatur, and some pieces of the mail that was dumped had cancellation dates as early as Oct. 5. The Postal Service was first informed of the undelivered mail Oct. 18.

Authorities said that some of the correspondence was too badly damaged to deliver, but other mail from the woods has since been delivered.

Federal court records do not list any attorney for Beaurem who could be reached for comment on his behalf.

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