Stephen Vincent Chavez, 41, has been released from custody after serving less than six months of a one-year jail sentence for incest, prompting widespread outrage online. His daughter, Makayla Settles, 18, died by suicide on December 28, 2025, five months after the assault.
Father convicted and sentenced
Chavez pleaded guilty in May to one felony count of incest and a misdemeanour count for supplying alcohol to his daughter. In June, he was sentenced to one year in Ventura County Jail and three years of probation. His inmate record confirms he walked free on Monday, November 9.
Makayla had relocated from North Carolina to live with her biological father in Moorpark in July 2025 to pursue higher education. The assault occurred just two days after her arrival on the West Coast, authorities confirmed.
Details of the assault
Ventura County District Attorney's officials stated: "After a day of drinking at a family gathering, Chavez purchased additional alcohol for him and his daughter to drink at home. Chavez then engaged in sexual intercourse with her."
The teenager required hospital treatment after the attack, and a rape kit verified the presence of Chavez's DNA. Ventura County Deputy District Attorney Tessa McCarty noted that Makayla had placed her trust in Chavez to look after and safeguard her following her cross-country move. McCarty stated: "[Chavez] violated this trust and shattered the father-daughter relationship in an unimaginable way."
Investigation and release
Prosecutors highlighted that Chavez exploited a position of trust and preyed upon an exceptionally vulnerable victim, and they had called for a three-year state prison term. He was also required to register as a sex offender for the following two decades.
Before the guilty pleas were entered, the DA's Office revealed prosecutors spent months investigating whether further charges, including rape, could lawfully be brought. Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko assembled a team of 10 in-house prosecutors, working alongside external legal specialists, to conduct a thorough investigation.
The DA's Office stated at the time: "[The] analysis that included multiple interviews, additional forensic testing, medical evaluations and an extensive review of electronic evidence. After doing so and convening a team of the office's top sexual assault prosecutors to review the findings, the District Attorney's Office is confident that this case was properly charged based upon the law, facts and evidence presented."
News of his release has triggered widespread fury online, with social media commenters branding it "extremely infuriating" and "disgusting".
