🚨💔 A CONTROVERSIAL COURT VERDICT IS SPARKING PUBLIC OUTRAGE: THE HEARTBREAKING DEATH OF AN 18-YEAR-OLD GIRL AND A SENTENCE MANY SAY IS IMPOSSIBLE TO ACCEPT

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The sentencing comes one month after Chavez pleaded guilty to the charges following his daughter’s December 2025 death

Stephen Vincent Chavez, Makayla Rene Settles
(L-R) Stephen Vincent Chavez, Makayla Rene Settles.Credit :  Ventura County DA; GoFundMe

NEED TO KNOW

  • Stephen Vincent Chavez of California was sentenced to one year in jail and three years of felony probation after being convicted of incest and providing alcohol to his 18-year-old biological daughter
  • Makayla Rene Settles moved in with her father months before her death after relocating from North Carolina
  • Chavez previously pleaded guilty to the charges and admitted to taking “advantage of a position of trust”

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.

Stephen Vincent Chavez as seen in a mugshot
Stephen Vincent Chavez as seen in a mugshot. Ventura County DA

“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.

Stephen Chavez remanded into custody following his guilty plea.
Stephen Chavez remanded into custody following his guilty plea. Ventura County DA

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.”

Makayla Rene Settles
Makayla Rene Settles. GoFundMe 

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.”

Source: https://people.com/calif-dad-gets-year-in-jail-3-years-probation-for-incest-and-providing-alcohol-to-daughter-18-who-died-by-suicide-12005454