A Florida man allegedly contributing to at least two programs aimed to provide services for special needs children was charged after police accused him of sexually abusing a minor aboard a cruise ship in 2023.
James “Jamie” Grover, 62, of Volusia County, Florida, was charged with sexually abusing a minor after a search of his Deltona home in Volusia County, Florida, and of his workplace at the Seminole Town Center Mall in Sanford Thursday, according to local news outlets.
In reporting from 10 Tampa Bay, at least two mothers accused Grover of sexually abusing their children in a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. At least one of the mothers said Grover committed a “sexual act” on her son while on a cruise in May of 2023.
Grover is the founder of the Special Needs Advocacy Program (SNAP) in Central Florida and is also alleged to be a program director for “Autism on the Seas,” a program that coordinates cruise vacations for people with autism and their families. FBI officials said in a press release that they believe Grover targeted boys with these programs beginning in 2010.
In reporting from NBC 6 South Florida, the program’s CEO told reporters that Grover’s last cruise with them was in 2013. The first staff-assisted cruise associated with the program was in 2007 with the latest cruise having occurred in 2024, according to the program’s website.
Crimes Reported on Cruise Ships
The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act enacted by Congress in 2010 provides certain protection provisions for passengers and those aboard cruise ships coming in and out of the United States. These incidents include sexual assaults, rapes, missing persons, physical; assaults, property crimes and other alleged criminal activity. Among those protections include guidelines and mandatory reporting of crimes happening on cruise ships, the protection of crime scenes, and training for passenger-vessel crew.
The latest data has shown a slight decrease in crime aboard ships from the first quarter of 2024. The first quarter of 2024 ran from January to March and reported eight assaults with serious bodily injury, 16 sexual assaults, 16 rapes and one missing persons case. In the second quarter, about eight assaults with serious bodily injury, one suspicious death, one missing person, nine sexual assaults and 16 rape cases aboard ships were reported.
Approximately 131 sex crimes were reported to the FBI in 2023 including 52 sexual assaults and 79 rapes happening on ships embarking and disembarking to and from the United States. In 2022 data, where the data did not separate the two crimes into individual categories, there were a total of 87 alleged sex crimes.
Leesfield & Partners
Leesfield & Partners attorneys have decades of experience representing clients injured and or killed as a result of crimes happening on cruise ships. Operating out of a city with a cruise ship pot that sees millions of passengers pass through it each year, Leesfield & Partners has been privy to thousands of personal injury claims happening aboard cruise ships. Some cases have included the devastating rape of a Canadian woman aboard a cruise ship by a crew member who accessed her room via his employee key card. Attorneys with the firm in that case secured a multi-million award for the woman.
More recently, Leesfield & Partners was secured to represent a woman who was filmed while in her private stateroom bathroom by an employee who had planted hidden cameras. That employee also filmed other passengers in their cabins including minors. Litigation in that case is ongoing.
When asked in a recent article in the Daily Business Review why these crimes happen so often aboard cruise ships, Leesfield & Partners’ Founder and Managing Partner, Ira Leesfield said he attributes it to a lack of policing aboard these ships which, when combined with more passengers on board than ever before, creates “a perfect storm.”
If you or someone you know believes they may have an injury claim following an assault aboard a cruise ship docked in Florida, don’t wait. Call Leesfield & Partners today for a free consultation at 305-854-4900 or 800-836-6400.
For Mental Health help following an assault, know you are not alone. Help can be found by calling the 24-hour National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.