The sentencing comes one month after Chavez pleaded guilty to the charges following his daughter’s December 2025 death
Nearly one year after an 18-year-old committed suicide, months after she was sexually assaulted and given alcohol by her father, the 41-year-old has been sentenced to jail time.
Stephen Vincent Chavez was sentenced to one year in Ventura County Jail and three years of felony probation after the December 2025 death of his biological daughter, Makayla Rene Settles, Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced on Tuesday, June 23.
The sentencing comes one month after Chavez pleaded guilty to the charges, as well as admitting to taking “advantage of a position of trust and that the victim was particularly vulnerable,” according to the district attorney.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(599x0:601x2):format(webp)/Stephen-Vincent-Chavez-mugshot-52026-53de0df8e9d04f07ba904f264eb9d315.jpg)
“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,” said Deputy District Attorney Tessa McCarty in a press statement.
“While we respect the court’s decision, we continue to believe a state prison sentence was warranted under the facts of this case,” her statement continued.
During Chavez’s sentencing, various members of Settles’ family addressed the court, reading what the district attorney said were “emotional victim impact statements describing the lasting trauma caused by the defendant’s actions and the devastating loss of Makayla.”
Her family told Fox 11 she moved to California from North Carolina, where she was staying in Chavez’s home, in July 2025 to start a new life.
The district attorney alleged that in July 2025, 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 intercourse with her.”
Settles died by suicide in December 2025.
The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office stated in its press release that Nasarenko “directed the office’s most experienced prosecutors to conduct a comprehensive review of whether additional charges, including rape, could legally be filed.”
The press release stated that this involved investigators and prosecutors conducting additional interviews, conducting new forensic testing, performing medical evaluations, and analyzing electronic evidence.
“A team of ten prosecutors within the District Attorney’s Office reviewed the evidence and findings,” the press release states. “The office also consulted with 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.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7.
