Evil incestuous dad who preyed on his own daughter, 18, before she took her life walks free from prison after serving paltry sentence

A California father, who plied his daughter with alcohol before he had sex with her, has been freed from behind bars in a shocking move that cuts his sentence in half. Stephen Chavez, 41, was convicted of incest with his daughter, 18-year-old Makayla Settles, and providing alcohol to a minor in June.But on the morning of November 9, just one week shy of six months since his booking, he was released, jail records showed. Chavez entered a guilty plea as part of a deal, but was handed just one year in jail by Judge Dusty Kawai who explained that he couldn't impose the maximum sentence without Chavez's consent as he had no prior criminal history, the Ventura County Star reported. Joey Buttitta, a spokesperson for the district attorney's office, told the outlet: 'Although the court imposed a one-year sentence, California law allows eligible defendants to receive credits that reduce their actual time in custody by 50 percent.'The news of his release by the Ventura County Sheriff's Office left Makayla's mother, Carolina Sandoval, devastated.'It hurts all over again,' she told the outlet. 'It's yet again another date that we have to remember, and it's painful. My daughter's life meant way more than six months.'As Chavez was receiving his sentence, Makayla's family and friends were outraged at the light sentencing. Stephen Chavez, 41, was convicted of the incest of his daughter, 18-year-old Makayla Settles seen above, and providing alcohol to a minor in June On the morning of November 9, just one week shy of six months since his booking, Chavez, seen above, was released Chavez entered a guilty plea as part of a deal, but was handed just one year in jail by Judge Dusty Kawai who explained that he couldn't impose the maximum sentence without Chavez's consent as he had no prior criminal historyIn court they gave harrowing victim impact statements, 'describing the lasting trauma caused by the defendant’s actions and the devastating loss of Makayla.' 'It's just ridiculous,' she previously told the Daily Mail. Chavez, having walked out of prison, will serve three years of felony probation during which he is forbidden from consuming drugs or alcohol, contact Makayla's family and friends, nor may he possess firearms or pornography, court records showed. He is also required to register as a sex offender for 20 years. His freedom from behind bars has Makayla's mother worried for her own safety as well as the safety of other teenagers, she told the Star. 'If he starts drinking, I absolutely think it would happen to somebody else,' Sandoval said, adding that she worries about his reaction to her public comments regarding the case on social media. But her daughter's case has motivated her to fight, not only for justice for Makayla but for other victims, in hopes of sexual predators being held accountable with harsher sentences. '[Makayla] did everything right,' the heartbroken mother said. 'And it still didn't matter... and I want to make changes in her name. I don't know what else to do, but I don't want this to happen again.' The news of his release by the Ventura County Sheriff's Office left Makayla's mother, Carolina Sandoval seen with Makayla, devastated. 'It hurts all over again,' she saidSandoval said Chavez only entered their daughter's life when she was aged nine, after which he told Makayla he was putting $500-a-month into a college fund for herSandoval previously told the Daily Mail that Chavez only entered Makayla's life when she was nine. He allegedly only 'sold her a dream' of moving to California when she was 18 by funding her college, leading to an allegedly disturbing incident six months before when she visited him from North Carolina in December 2024. She said the trip took a dark turn as Chavez allegedly plied her daughter with alcohol during an alarming drinking session, and the teen then 'woke up in her underwear.' Sandoval said her daughter told her she confronted Chavez at the time and he claimed she 'passed out on the couch', so he carried her up to her bed, and told her, ‘you must have taken your clothes off when you slept.’The mother said she was unaware of that incident until her daughter told her about the July 2025 attack, and she now believes Chavez had been grooming their daughter for months. 'I think he was testing the boundaries at that point,' Sandoval said. Sandoval said Chavez only entered their daughter's life when she was aged nine, after which he told Makayla he was putting $500-a-month into a college fund for her. They had plans for Makayla to move to California when she turned 18, which Sandoval said 'sold her a dream' about a new life on the West Coast. She said the December 2024 trip was to prepare for the move to California, but after the alleged incident where Makayla woke up in her underwear, she kept the troubling episode to herself for months. Despite trying her best to move on with her young life, Makayla attempted suicide five months later in December 2025 and died after a week in hospital, pictured Chavez, having walked out of prison, will serve three years of felony probation during which he is forbidden from consuming drugs or alcohol, contact Makayla's family and friends, nor may he possess firearms or pornographyIn July 2025, Sandoval said she joined her daughter to help her move, but just two days later Chavez plied Makayla with alcohol once again after a family gathering. Prosecutors said Chavez admitted to buying more alcohol for himself and Makayla as part of a plot to have sex with her at his home. Despite trying her best to move on with her young life, Makayla attempted suicide five months later in December 2025 and died after a week in hospital. Sandoval said Makayla called her after the attack 'hysterically crying', and said they raced to hospital to get a rape kit to provide to the police. She said Makayla also made a video testimony about the incident and wrote about it in her diary, but prosecutors decided there was 'not enough evidence' to charge Chavez with anything more than incest and distributing alcohol to a minor. She said she believes she provided a trove of damning evidence to prosecutors, as she questioned: 'I don't know what else you want.' Sandoval added that she confronted Chavez after the incident on a phone call, and while he claimed he 'blacked out' and had no memory of the incestuous episode, he was acting strangely as he was 'not surprised at all' by the horrific allegations. 'Not once did he act shocked,' she alleged. 'A normal person would say, ‘no that’s crazy, what are you talking about.' Makayla's case motivated Sandoval to fight, not only for justice for Makayla but for other victims, in hopes of sexual predators being held accountable with harsher sentencesThe cold call led police to arrest Chavez as he admitted to plying his underage daughter with alcohol, but prosecutors did not feel there was enough ‘evidence’ for anything further. He was later charged with incest. Prosecutors said they faced legal barriers to applying escalated charges in the case, including that Makayla's suicide meant there were no living witnesses. They decided that despite Sandoval providing a rape kit with Chavez's DNA, the burden of proof under California law was not met to charge him with rape due to a lack of other substantive evidence. After the July 2025 incident, Sandoval said her daughter returned to North Carolina ‘heartbroken and sad’, and she started sleeping with a nightlight on.But she said there were no clear signs she was suicidal and believed she was moving on from the incident, before her daughter tragically took her own life.Upon his sentencing, Deputy District Attorney Tessa McCarty condemned Chavez and said he took advantage of his young daughter and betrayed her trust in a horrific way.'Chavez 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,' McCarty said.'While we respect the court’s decision, we continue to believe a state prison sentence was warranted under the facts of this case,' she added.The Daily Mail reached out to Sandoval, the Ventura County District Attorney's Office and the Ventura County Sheriff's Office for comment.