Father Pleads Guilty to Incest, Avoids State Prison Following Daughter's Suicide

A Moorpark, Calif., father avoided state prison and was sentenced to one year in county jail and three years of felony probation after pleading guilty to felony i----- and providing alcohol to his 18-year-old biological daughter, who died by s------- months after the assault.

In 2025, Makayla Renee Settles, 18, moved from North Carolina to California to live with her father, Stephen Vincent Chavez, 41, and attend college.

Just two days after moving in, Chavez plied his daughter with alcohol at their home and raped her.

"After a day of drinking at a family gathering, Chavez purchased additional alcohol for himself and his daughter to consume at home. Chavez then engaged in sexual i--------- with her," the district attorney's office said in a news release.

Settles reported the assault, underwent a forensic rape kit that tested positive for Chavez's DNA, and later took her own life in December 2025.

Following a guilty plea to i----- and a misdemeanor of providing alcohol to a minor, Chavez was handed a one-year jail and probation sentence on June 23, dodging the maximum three-year state prison term requested by prosecutors.

The sentence handed down by the court sparked outrage among the victim's family and the public, who expressed frustration over the perceived leniency of the punishment.

Prosecutors objected to the court's sentence and requested a maximum sentence of three years in state prison.

"Several members of Makayla's family addressed the court during sentencing and provided emotional victim impact statements describing the lasting trauma caused by the defendant's actions and the devastating loss of Makayla," the DA’s news release said.

Chavez "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,” said Deputy District Attorney Tessa McCarty.

"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.

The release explained that before Chavez entered his guilty pleas, prosecutors conducted a comprehensive review of whether additional charges, including rape, could be filed, and they determined that incest was the only felony charge supported by the law, facts, and admissible evidence.

“You were grooming her, and she had zero clue, so when you did what you did, she was in complete shock,” said Settles' mother, Carolina Sandoval, who filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Chavez on June 5.

Her sister Jaida Settles blasted her father, saying, “He ruined her life, and now he’s ruined mine. I don’t have her, and it's because of him. … There’s no doubt in my mind it’s because of him.”

Judge Russel-Paul H. Kawai explained that while he couldn’t impose the high term of three years in state prison because Chavez did not have a previous criminal history, “I can feel the anger, and I can feel the frustration. I can sense the injustice that you feel, and I understand.”