ORLANDO, Fla. — Special Needs Advocacy Program (SNAP) founder, James Bernard Grover, will remain in police custody after a judge ordered him held without bail during a hearing Wednesday on charges that he sexually abused a child with special needs.

What You Need To Know

  • The founder of an organization designed to help children and families with special needs, James Bernard Grover, 62, was ordered held without bond while facing charges of sexually abusing multiple young boys

  • According to FBI Tampa’s investigation, Grover ran the Special Needs Advocacy Program (SNAP) at Seminole Towne Center Mall in Sanford

  • The mother of a victim filed a complaint to the FBI in July, after filing an initial report to the Sanford Police Department

Grover was arrested by the FBI on Sept. 4, after agents searched his Deltona home. The 62-year-old founded SNAP in Sanford and was affiliated with Autism on the Seas.

He is accused of sexual abuse of a minor, and FBI investigators from the FBI say they believe there could be more victims from the two organizations.

"The FBI believes Grover targeted young boys between the timeframe of 2010 to the present while working at SNAP and while serving as group director of Autism on the Seas, an international organization that developed cruise vacations for adults and families living with special needs," the FBI said in a release.

A total of three alleged victims accused Grover of sexual abuse, according to a criminal complaint filed by the FBI. Currently, he is being held on a single count of sexual abuse of a minor older than 12 but younger than 16, within the special maritime jurisdiction of the United States.

The incident involving one of the accusers allegedly took place on a cruise ship that left Port Canaveral on May 20, 2022, and with a second accuser on a cruise from the same port on May 15, 2023.

Grover has denied having sexual contact with any of the alleged victims.

FBI investigators say they believe there may be more potential victims who have not yet come forward.

Anyone with additional information is encouraged to submit a tip by filling out an online form on the FBI website.