Father Who Gave Daughter Alcohol Before Sexually Abusing Her Set For Release After Five Months, She Died By Suicide

Stephen Vincent Chavez is scheduled for release from a California jail on Monday 9 November, according to a Ventura County inmate record. His release would come after less than six months in custody for felony incest and supplying alcohol to his daughter.

Makayla Settles was 18 when her father sexually abused her in July 2025. Prosecutors stated that Chavez had bought alcohol that day for the two of them to drink at his home in Moorpark. Settles died by suicide on 28 December that year, five months after the assault.

Chavez, 41, appeared before Judge Dusty Kawai in Ventura County Superior Court on 23 June 2026. Kawai sentenced him to a year in the county jail. Chavez had been in custody since he pleaded guilty in May.

How Alcohol Figured in the Incest Case

Settles had moved from North Carolina to Southern California hoping for a fresh start. Investigators placed the assault at the Moorpark home where she had gone to live with her father.

'After a day of drinking at a family gathering, Chavez purchased additional alcohol for him and his daughter to drink at home,' the Ventura County District Attorney's Office stated. 'Chavez then engaged in sexual intercourse with her.'

Ventura County Deputy District Attorney Tessa McCarty described what Settles had counted on when she crossed the country to live with her father. She had trusted him to care for her and protect her. '[Chavez] violated this trust and shattered the father-daughter relationship in an unimaginable way,' she added.

What Chavez Admitted in His Incest Plea

Chavez brought his scheduled court appearance forward so he could enter a guilty plea in May 2026. He admitted one felony count of incest. The alcohol he supplied to Settles, who was 18 at the time, was the basis for the second offence, a misdemeanour count of furnishing alcohol to a minor.

According to prosecutors, Chavez also acknowledged that he had abused a position of trust and that the victim was particularly vulnerable. He was taken into custody immediately after entering his plea.

The district attorney's office spent months examining whether it could pursue additional charges, including rape. In a statement earlier in 2026, the office described multiple interviews, further 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.'

Prosecutors concluded that incest was the only felony charge supported by the law, facts and admissible evidence.

Beyond the Jail Term for Incest

Before sentencing, prosecutors had sought the maximum three-year state prison term. The possibility that Chavez could receive no more than three years had already drawn criticism.

News of the November release date prompted further criticism. In social media comments quoted in coverage of the case, users described the prospect of his release as 'extremely infuriating' and 'disgusting'.

At the June hearing, Kawai imposed a one-year sentence in Ventura County Jail followed by three years of felony probation. The judge also ordered Chavez to register as a sex offender for 20 years.