Massachusetts Convicts ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ Arsonist

A Massachusetts jury has convicted a Clinton man accused of setting four buildings on fire in 2007, including one that burned the birthplace of the woman made famous in the nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”

Worcester Superior Court jurors on Monday also found 30-year-old Michael Dreslinski guilty of other charges, including conspiracy to commit arson. Sentencing has not been scheduled.

A co-defendant, 30-year-old John Rousseau, is expected to appear in court Oct. 20 for a final pretrial conference.

Prosecutors accuse the men of burning a barn in Holden as well as the vacant house in Sterling. Town officials say the house was the birthplace of Mary Elizabeth Sawyer, who inspired the “Little Lamb” poem.

Rousseau and Dreslinski have been held without bail since August 2007.