“She felt she had no way out.”
A California father who admitted to having sex with his 18-year-old daughter after plying her with alcohol is set to walk free Monday, Nov. 9. This is after only serving less than six months in jail, sparking outrage and despair from the family of the young woman, who died by suicide five months after the assault.
Stephen Vincent Chavez, 41, of Moorpark, is scheduled for release from Ventura County Jail, per inmate records. His release comes less than five months after a judge sentenced him to one year behind bars, dismissing the prosecution’s repeated request for the maximum of three years behind bars.
The development has prompted Makayla Rene Settles’ grieving mother, Carolina Sandoval, to launch a Change.org petition demanding justice for her daughter and changes to sentencing laws governing sexual assault. Sandoval created the petition Sunday, Nov. 8, describing the punishment imposed on Chavez as a failure of the justice system.
“Makayla Rene Settles was a bright, vibrant young woman whose life was tragically cut short. She is my daughter, and her death was not just a heartbreaking loss for our family, but also a symptom of a deeply flawed legal system. Makayla felt she had no way out after enduring the horrific trauma of being sexually assaulted by her biological father. In what can only be described as a gross miscarriage of justice, he received a mere one year of probation for his monstrosity,” Sandoval wrote.
She went on to say, “This sentence is an affront to our sense of justice and an insult to all survivors of sexual abuse.”
The petition demands a re-examination of sexual assault sentencing laws and stronger accountability for offenders. Sandoval also urges supporters to help ensure that her daughter’s death leads to meaningful change.
Makayla was just 18 when she moved from North Carolina to California in July 2025 to live with her biological father, hoping to attend college and begin a new chapter in her life. Two days after arriving at Chavez’s Moorpark home, she reported that he had sexually assaulted her.
Ventura County prosecutors said that Chavez and his daughter had been drinking at a family gathering before he purchased additional alcohol for them to drink at home after the party. Chavez subsequently engaged in sexual intercourse with her.
Makayla was hospitalized following the encounter, and forensic testing detected Chavez’s DNA. She tragically died by suicide on Dec. 28, 2025, five months later.
Chavez was initially charged with felony incest and furnishing alcohol to a minor. He pleaded not guilty and was released on $250,000 bail.
The case garnered national attention as Makayla’s family questioned why prosecutors had not charged Chavez with rape. Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko ordered an extensive review of the evidence, including additional interviews, forensic testing, medical evaluations and electronic records.
A team of ten prosecutors, plus outside legal experts, worked tirelessly to see whether additional charges could be supported. Prosecutors sadly concluded that felony incest was the only felony charge supported by the admissible evidence and applicable law.
The decision, of course, frustrated Makayla’s family, who argued that the evidence warranted more serious charges.
On May 18, Chavez pleaded guilty to felony incest and misdemeanor furnishing alcohol to a minor. He also admitted that he had abused a position of trust and that Makayla was particularly vulnerable. He was immediately taken into custody.
At his June 23 sentencing hearing, prosecutors urged Ventura County Superior Court Judge Dusty Kawai to impose the maximum three-year state prison sentence. Deputy District Attorney Tessa McCarty argued that Chavez had exploited his position as a father, violated his daughter’s trust and engaged in conduct that forever altered her life.
But Kawai imposed a substantially lighter sentence: one year in Ventura County Jail, followed by three years of felony probation, based on sentencing guidelines and lack of prior criminal history.
Chavez was also ordered to register as a sex offender for 20 years. The sentence came over the objections of prosecutors, who maintained that prison was warranted.
Several members of Makayla’s family delivered emotional victim impact statements describing the devastating loss of the teenager and the lasting effects of Chavez’s actions.
As previously reported by Los Angeles Magazine, Sandoval had questioned how the legal system could impose such a limited punishment for what happened to her daughter.
“It just feels like, you know, my daughter’s life is only worth three years,” she stated. The family’s efforts to hold Chavez accountable have also expanded.
On June 5, Sandoval filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in Ventura County Superior Court accusing Chavez of negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and other wrongdoing. The civil complaint also alleges that Chavez engaged in grooming behavior during an earlier visit by Makayla in December 2024. The allegations are unadjudicated in the civil case.
“Makayla’s story must be a turning point,” she wrote, calling for changes to ensure other families do not experience similar tragedies. Her Change.org petition also argues that probation and limited incarceration fail to properly address the harm suffered by sexual assault victims.
For Sandoval, the fight to change the laws around punishment for sexual abuse continues, even as the flimsy criminal sentence for her daughter’s father comes to an end.
It was not immediately clear whether Chavez has been physically released from custody Monday morning or what specific conditions would govern his supervision.
Los Angeles has reached out to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office and is awaiting comment.
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