DAD WHO ADMITTED INCEST WITH DAUGHTER GOT 1 YEAR IN JAIL
A California dad who admitted incest with his 18-year-old daughter got one year in county jail, far short of the prison time prosecutors wanted. Stephen Vincent Chavez, 41, was also handed three years of probation.
A judge sentenced Chavez, who lived in Moorpark, on June 23, 2026. He had pleaded guilty to felony incest and misdemeanor providing alcohol to a minor, and prosecutors had asked for three years in state prison.
“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, Patch reported. Prosecutors also objected to the sentence the judge imposed.
What prosecutors said happened
Makayla Rene Settles, 18, had moved from North Carolina to Moorpark to live with her biological father.
Prosecutors said the incident took place in July 2025, after a family gathering where alcohol was consumed. They said Chavez bought more alcohol for himself and Settles to drink at home, then had sex with her.
Chavez claimed the encounter was consensual, the New York Post reported.
Settles gave detectives multiple statements, including a recorded video interview, her mother told the Post.
Prosecutors did not pursue a rape charge. The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office said prosecutors and outside legal experts reviewed whether the evidence could support additional charges, including rape. Senior prosecutors and legal experts from another county concluded incest was the only felony charge supported by the facts, the law and the admissible evidence, reports said.
What happened next
Settles died by suicide in December 2025, several months after the incident, according to reports.
On May 18, 2026, Chavez pleaded guilty. He also admitted special allegations that he exploited a position of trust and that Settles was particularly vulnerable. FOX 11 Los Angeles reported he was remanded into custody pending sentencing.
Then came the June 23, 2026 sentencing, with one year in county jail and three years of probation. Chavez must also register as a sex offender for 20 years.
Settles’ mother, Carolina Sandoval, 40, did not hold back.
“This is absurd. It’s not justice,” she told the Post.
She called California’s laws on sexual abuse and rape “a significant gray area” and said, “There must be a change. It feels as though the system prioritizes the predator over the victim.”
Sandoval took aim at Gov. Gavin Newsom, saying, “I wish he would take the time to review the entire case to identify what went wrong and how improvements can be made for other victims.”
The Governor’s office said it could not comment on decisions by local law enforcement or judicial bodies. It also pointed to the administration’s support for legislation, survivor services and victim protections, the Post reported.
Survivors of sexual abuse who attended Chavez’s court proceedings also criticized Newsom over what they saw as a lenient approach to prosecuting sex offenses. The Post did not name them.
Sandoval said she plans to push for legal changes. “I am determined to advocate for changes to these laws so that no other family has to endure what we have faced,” she told the Post.
