A California man convicted of incest involving his teenage daughter has been released after serving roughly half of a one-year jail sentence. His daughter died by suicide several months after the assault.
Stephen Vincent Chavez, 41, pleaded guilty in May to felony incest and misdemeanor furnishing alcohol to a minor. The case involved his daughter, Makayla Rene Settles, who was 18 when she was staying at his home in Moorpark in July 2025.
On June 23, Ventura County Superior Court Judge Dusty Kawai sentenced Chavez to a year in county jail and three years of probation. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender for 20 years. Sheriff’s office records show he was released on Monday, after serving about six months.
A spokesperson for the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office said California law allows eligible defendants to earn credits that can cut their time in custody by half. Prosecutors had opposed the sentence and asked the court to impose the maximum three-year state prison term.
Chavez’s probation conditions include avoiding drugs and alcohol, staying away from the victim’s family and friends, and not possessing firearms or pornography. He must also allow searches of his electronic devices and register as a sex offender for 20 years.
Prosecutors said a team of 10 attorneys considered whether additional charges, including rape, could be filed. They ultimately concluded that incest was the only felony charge supported by the law and available evidence.
Deputy District Attorney Tessa McCarty said prosecutors sought the maximum sentence because Chavez had exploited his role as a father, violated his daughter’s trust, given her alcohol and committed an act that profoundly changed her life.
According to the district attorney’s office, Makayla had moved from North Carolina to stay with Chavez, hoping to attend college and start a new chapter. Two days after arriving at his home, she reported that he had sexually assaulted her.
Prosecutors said Chavez and Makayla had been drinking at a family gathering. He later bought more alcohol for them to drink at home, then had sex with her. Makayla was hospitalized after the assault, and a rape kit reportedly found Chavez’s DNA.
Makayla died by suicide on Dec. 28, 2025. Her mother, Carolina Sandoval, said Makayla had felt trapped after the assault and that the legal system had failed to protect her. A petition launched after Chavez’s release called for the case to be reviewed and sentencing laws to be reconsidered, arguing that the sentence did not reflect the seriousness of the crime or adequately hold perpetrators accountable.
