An 41-year-old California father has been sentenced to jail after admitting to Sєxually abusing his 18-year-old biological daughter and providing her with alcohol, months before she died by suicide.

According to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, Stephen Vincent Chavez was sentenced to one year in Ventura County Jail and three years of felony probation in connection with the December 2025 death of his daughter, Makayla Rene Settles.

The sentence was announced by Erik Nasarenko on June 23, about one month after Chavez pleaded guilty to the charges. As part of his plea, he also admitted to abusing a position of trust and acknowledged that the victim was particularly vulnerable.

Deputy District Attorney Tessa McCarty said prosecutors had sought the maximum three-year state prison sentence, arguing that Chavez had exploited his role as a father, violated his daughter’s trust, supplied her with alcohol, and engaged in criminal conduct that permanently changed the course of her life. Although the court imposed a lesser sentence, prosecutors stated they continued to believe a prison term was appropriate given the circumstances of the case.

During the sentencing hearing, members of Settles’ family delivered emotional victim impact statements describing the lasting trauma they said resulted from Chavez’s actions and the profound loss of Makayla.

According to her family, Makayla had moved from North Carolina to California in July 2025 to begin a new chapter in her life while staying at her father’s home.

Prosecutors alleged that after a family gathering in July 2025 where alcohol was consumed, Chavez purchased additional alcohol for himself and his daughter after returning home. Investigators said he then Sєxually ᴀssaulted her.

Makayla died by suicide in December 2025.

Following her death, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office said District Attorney Nasarenko directed senior prosecutors to conduct an extensive review to determine whether additional charges, including rape, could legally be filed. The review included further witness interviews, new forensic testing, medical evaluations, and analysis of electronic evidence before prosecutors determined the charges supported under California law.

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