MINEOLA, Texas — A Mineola man was arrested this week following a months-long investigation into a reported sexual assault that allegedly occurred in 2025.
On Thursday, March 12, 2026, Wood County deputies arrested 68-year-old Roy Elmo Oliphant of Mineola on a charge of Sexual Assault. His bond was set at $30,000.
According to investigators, the alleged assault occurred on June 4, 2025.
That day, a Wood County deputy met with a woman at UT Health East Texas after she reported to hospital staff that she had been sexually assaulted. The woman told deputies that Oliphant had invited her to his home to cook dinner and that the assault occurred while they were preparing the meal.
She told deputies that while she was helping remove the lid from a plastic bowl, Oliphant allegedly began undressing her. Deputies noted in their report that the woman was very emotional and distraught while describing what happened.
The woman later agreed to undergo a medical forensic examination, which investigators say can be an invasive process but is often used to collect evidence in sexual assault cases.
According to the report, investigators interviewed the woman again the following day. She told deputies that Oliphant was her former landlord and that she had known him for approximately three years.
During the alleged assault, she told investigators that she was too afraid to say no or scream.
Deputies later located Oliphant at his home in the 2000 block of County Road 2339 in Mineola. Oliphant told deputies that the woman had come to his home and that he planned to pay her to help empty a vehicle.
When deputies informed him of the allegations, Oliphant reportedly said he had bought her dinner “a hundred times” and declined to discuss the accusations further.
After months of investigation, authorities requested an arrest warrant. A court issued the warrant on March 11, 2026, leading to Oliphant’s arrest the following day.
Jail records show that Oliphant posted bail on Friday and was released while awaiting future court proceedings.
