Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 09:00

Ontario - Saying he observed prominent local men participating in sexual rituals was a lie motivated by revenge, a witness told an inquiry probing the institutional response to allegations of systemic sexual abuse in the Cornwall area.

Ron Leroux told the commission Tuesday that he didn't actually see the men engaged in any rituals, despite the fact several statements signed by him in the past included comments about having seen the acts performed first hand.

"I was angry for being molested," Leroux said. "I wanted to get back at them somehow."

A number of documents entered as exhibits at the inquiry Tuesday contain statements attributed to Leroux in which he recalls having observed a "clan" of pedophiles engaged in ritualistic acts involving young boys at a cottage in the late 1950s or early 1960s.