Ventura County prosecutors argued Stephen Chavez deserved the harshest sentence allowed after admitting he exploited his now deceased daughter and a position of trust; but the court imposed a substantially lighter punishment
A disturbed California father who admitted to having sex with his 18-year-old biological daughter after buying her alcohol was sentenced Tuesday to just one year in county jail. This is an embarrassing punishment that even prosecutors argued was far too lenient.
Stephen Vincent Chavez, 41, of Moorpark, was sentenced by Judge Dusty Kawai to one year in Ventura County Jail and three years of felony probation after pleading guilty in May to felony incest and misdemeanor providing alcohol to a minor. Chavez also admitted he exploited a position of trust as Makayla Settles’ father and that the teenager was particularly vulnerable.
That’s an understatement considering the teen girl took her own life just months after her father admitted to the (alleged) assault and incest charge.
The sentence stunned Makayla’s family, who had spent months fighting for what they believed was justice after the 18-year-old died by suicide in December 2025. Again, roughly five months after the July 2025 encounter that led to the criminal case.
Ventura County prosecutors had urged the court to impose the maximum three-year state prison sentence. They argued that Chavez’s crimes warranted a much harsher punishment.
“The People requested the maximum three-year state prison sentence because the defendant exploited his position as a father, violated his daughter’s trust, supplied her with alcohol, and engaged in criminal conduct that forever altered the course of her life,” Deputy District Attorney Tessa McCarty said in a statement. “While we respect the court’s decision, we continue to believe a state prison sentence was warranted under the facts of this case.”
Several members of Makayla’s family addressed the court on Tuesday, delivering emotional victim impact statements. They described the lasting trauma caused by Chavez’s disgusting actions and the devastating loss of the young woman.
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As previously reported by Los Angeles Magazine, Makayla had moved from North Carolina to California in July 2025 to live with Chavez (her biological father) in hopes of starting a new life and attending college.
The pair attended a family gathering where they consumed alcohol before Chavez purchased additional alcohol for them to drink after returning to his Moorpark home. Chavez later admitted to engaging in sexual intercourse with his daughter. Makayla was later hospitalized after attempting to take her own life, and she died in December 2025.
The case drew national attention and outrage because Chavez was never charged with rape.
Following his arrest, Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko ordered an extensive review to determine whether additional charges (including rape) could legally be filed. Prosecutors said investigators conducted additional interviews, obtained new forensic testing and medical evaluations, analyzed electronic evidence, and crafted a team of ten prosecutors to review the evidence. The office also consulted other prosecutors and legal experts from another county.
After the review, officials sadly concluded that felony incest was the only felony charge supported by the law, admissible evidence and available facts. This was a decision that has remained deeply upsetting among Makayla’s family and supporters.
Makayla’s mother, Carolina Sandoval, previously questioned how Chavez could face such limited punishment.
“Based on the charges, the most that he can get is three years [in prison],” she previously told FOX 11. “He’s 40. In 20 years this is gonna all go away for him?”
With Tuesday’s ruling, Chavez received an even lighter sentence than prosecutors sought. Instead of state prison, he will serve one year in Ventura County Jail before beginning three years of felony probation.