DAD WHO ADMITTED INCEST WITH DAUGHTER GETS 1 YEAR IN JAIL
A Moorpark, California, man who pleaded guilty to felony incest with his 18-year-old daughter was sentenced on June 23, 2026, to one year in county jail and three years of probation. Stephen Vincent Chavez, 41, avoided the three years in state prison that prosecutors wanted because Judge Dusty Kawai said he could not impose that term without Chavez’s agreement, the Ventura County Star reported.
His daughter, Makayla Renee Settles, died by suicide in December 2025, several months after the incident, according to prosecutors.
What prosecutors said happened
Settles had moved from Raleigh, North Carolina, to Moorpark to live with her biological father. Prosecutors said the incident happened in July 2025, after a family gathering where she drank alcohol. They said Chavez bought more alcohol for the two of them 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.
No rape charge was filed. The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office said a team of 10 prosecutors reviewed the evidence and consulted experienced prosecutors and legal experts from another county. “After this extensive review, all concluded that incest was the only felony charge supported by the law, facts, and admissible evidence,” the office said.
The plea and the sentence
On May 18, 2026, Chavez pleaded guilty to felony incest and misdemeanor providing alcohol to a minor. He also admitted special allegations that he took advantage of a position of trust and that his daughter was particularly vulnerable. FOX 11 Los Angeles reported he was taken into custody pending sentencing. The Star reported the plea followed a deal that prosecutors opposed.
Chavez, who had no prior criminal history, was given credit for 88 days already served, and his probation bars him from using alcohol, the Star reported. He must also register as a sex offender for 20 years, according to FOX 2/KTVU.
Deputy District Attorney Tessa McCarty said, as Patch reported: “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.”
Prosecutors objected to the sentence the court imposed. “While we respect the court’s decision, we continue to believe a state prison sentence was warranted under the facts of this case,” McCarty said in the DA’s statement.
Settles’ relatives gave victim-impact statements at the hearing describing lasting trauma and the loss of Makayla. Her cousin, Crystal Sandoval, told the judge, “This is exactly why we don’t speak up,” the Star reported. Kawai acknowledged the family’s anger and frustration and, according to the Star, agreed Settles deserved better and that the proceedings fell short of delivering justice.
Her mother wants the laws changed
Settles’ mother, Carolina Sandoval, 40, did not hold back with the Post. “This is absurd. It’s not justice,” she said.
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 also targeted Gov. Gavin Newsom. “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,” she said.
The governor’s office said it could not comment on decisions by local law enforcement or judicial bodies. It 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.
Our earlier report covered the sentence when it was handed down, and it remains the latest step in the case. Sandoval said she plans to keep pushing. “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.
