Sentencing delayed for sanctuary co-founder

Sentencing for Nick Sculac, the co-founder of big-cat sanctuary Serenity Springs Wildlife Center, was postponed this morning until Oct. 26 at 8:30 a.m.

Sculac, 60, has pleaded guilty to theft for bilking a volunteer who was mauled by a tiger out of $40,500.

The victim, Michael McCain, and several others made the trip from the Telluride area for the sentencing, but 4th Judicial District Judge David Gilbert postponed it because a pre-sentencing report was not available.

The delay was blamed on community corrections, which has said Sculac is suitable as a client, instead of him being sent to jail or prison. But the organization has not made a final determination, because it has had difficulty getting information from Sculac and the county probation department, according to Gilbert.

“It’s completely unacceptable. If I had known any of this was going on, I would have intervened earlier,” Gilbert said.

Sculac faces 2 to 6 years behind bars and fines up to $500,000.

bigcatrescue.org