Could putting sugar in a gas tank make it not start?

I asked a question earlier about someone who stole something from my car because my car won't work and just the night before it was perfect. A few hours after I posted the question I decided to get a friend and we were checking everything out (I'm 16 and don't know much about cars) and discovered some SOB put sugar in the gas tank… So could that be the reason my Ford explorer won't work? I'm guessing I gotta have my grandpa who knows a lot about cars look at it tomorrow but he's going through some tough times so I don't wanna take up TOO much of his time.

People run on sugar not cars clean the tank and replace the filters do not start it till you get the sugar out

It will start at least one or two times after sugar is put into the tank. At some point, when enough sugar makes it into the cylinders, the engine will lock up and have to be rebuilt.

If you have sugar, it'll be a sweet ride!

Did they spill the sugar around the gas cap and filler? If not are you just guessing this happened? Or did someone say they did it? Some things to think about. What is the year and miles, the older the car the more likely it is some other problem.
Sugar will not ruin the engine but can clog the fuel pump and or fuel filter. And based on the way the tank and intake is set up, they might have to put a bag or two in there to have any effect. So I'm not thinking this is the problem. But if so then you might have to get the car towed to a shop and have the tank cleaned out, or a least the the fuel filter removed, then they can inspect the fuel line.
Go on e bay and buy a locking gas cap.

I'm not sure how you know for sure that someone put sugar in your gas tank unless someone told you they did, but if there's sugar in your gas tank the worst it would do is clog your fuel filter.

The long-standing rumor that sugar in your gas tank can ruin the entire engine is simply not true because sugar is insoluble in gasoline. At most, sugar granules might clog up your fuel filter if you ran the tank empty enough where the fuel pump picked up undissolved sugar from off the bottom of the tank.

If the engine won't start since someone sabotaged it, I'd guess they put something else in your gas tank (like a whole bunch of water) than sugar because sugar simply wouldn't disable your engine by clogging the fuel filter unless they poured a ton of sugar in and you had almost no fuel in the tank.

Yes
and do a lot of damage to the motor

If someone put sugar in your tank, it would still start and run at least for a while. Chances are it will not do serious harm.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/fuel-consumption/sugar-in-gas-tank.htm

http://mythbustersresults.com/episode15