‘Justice for Makayla Settles’: Family outraged as dad faces 3-year sentence after daughter's suicide

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VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. – The criminal case against a Moorpark man for the alleged sexual assault of his daughter is moving forward in Ventura County, despite significant legal challenges following the 18-year-old's death. 

What we know:

Stephen Vincent Chavez is charged with felony incest, taking advantage of a position of trust, and providing alcohol to a minor, according to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office. 

While her family states a rape kit confirmed the presence of Chavez’s DNA, the District Attorney has not filed rape charges.

Based on the current charges, the maximum sentence Chavez can receive is three years in prison, the family was told. Upon release, Chavez is allegedly facing 20 years as a registered sex offender. 

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: California dad charged with incest after allegedly assaulting daughter; DA may drop case

The family said despite the gravity of the situation, Chavez still has his passport and has not been restricted from international travel. 

The backstory:

Settles had moved from North Carolina to Moorpark in July 2025 to live with Chavez, her biological father. 

Just two days after her arrival, she was hospitalized for an alleged sexual assault. 

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 'Justice for Makayla Settles': California dad charged with incest, but not rape, after daughter's suicide

Chavez was subsequently arrested, pleaded not guilty, and was released on $250,000 bail. 

Five months later, Settles died by suicide.

What they're saying:

Settles' family spoke with FOX 11 following Tuesday's court hearing.

Her mother, Carolina Sandoval, expressed deep frustration, calling Chavez's potential three-year sentence "ridiculous" and not representative of justice.

"Based on the charges, the most that he can get is three years [in prison] and 20 years as a registered sex offender. I said, 'uh… he's 40. In 20 years this is gonna all go away for him?' And you know they really couldn't really answer me, but they just kept saying, based on the charges, that's the most that he can get," Sandoval said. 

"Then I said, 'Why can't we do involuntary manslaughter?' They said, ‘Based on evidence, this is all we can charge.’ My daughter then asked, ‘why can’t we do [charge for] rape?' And they said, ‘Based on the evidence this all we can charge.’ So I don't know what evidence they're talking about, maybe what Makayla said, you know, the day it happened. But at the end of the day, he got her drunk. And even if, you know, he said, 'let's go to this room' or 'let's go upstairs' or whatever she said, and even if she did, she was intoxicated. She was taken advantage of physically and mentally. So if that's not rape, I really don't know what is," she said. 

"It just feels like, you know, my daughter's life is only worth three years. And so then I asked, you know, 'After the three years, what? I said so, okay, he's registered as a sex offender, but then what? Can he go golfing?' And they said, ‘Yeah,’ I said, ‘Okay. Can he go on trips?’ They said, ‘Yeah.' I said,' Do you understand my daughter clocks out of work and then now has to go to a grave site to spend time with her sister?' And, you know, they really couldn't say anything."

"So it just, it doesn't feel like justice. What's three years? I asked, ‘Can he do, if he doesn't get in trouble, can he get out early?' They said, ‘Yeah.’ So what a year and a half… if that? I asked if they took his passport away. They said, ‘No.’ So I said, ‘Okay, so if he wanted to go get on a plane and go out of the country, he can change his last name right now.’ They said, ‘Well, yeah, people do that.’ Like, why haven't they taken his passport away? Why is he still out? I don't understand, and I feel like the charges need to be changed because three years is ridiculous."

"He changed my daughter forever. That day it happened. He called me from prison and I told him, I said, 'You killed my daughter. I don't know who I'm bringing back.'"

"The only justice that Makayla has gotten was literally because of what my niece did and those videos and then what the rest of the world has done. That's it. The rest of the world and my niece has given my daughter justice because, at least now, they know who he is. And I mean, I don't know what to tell you. Good luck if, you know, you hire him, and he's in your house, and you've got kids. Because if he can do it to his own daughter, I cannot imagine what he would do to a complete stranger," she added. 

Sandoval remembered her daughter as a "sweet girl" who "made friends anywhere she went."

"Instantly, it didn't matter, you know, she talked to everybody, she was kind, she was bubbly, she loved to pull pranks on us, loved to scare us, you know. She was just, she was a sweet girl. She was still very, very innocent. Just because she was 18, you know, didn't make her an adult. You know, she still, she still called me ‘mommy.’ You know? Like anytime she needed something, ‘Mommy, can you do this?’ You know like, she was a kid. She was a child that, you know, got taken advantage of. And she just didn't deserve that. You know she deserved to be here and to get to meet new people."

"I hope she saw how many people came for her, how many were just loving her. It's crazy how all these people came out and the one person that was supposed to love and protect her did what he did. But yeah, she was an amazing girl. She was so driven. She literally wanted to go from being an architect to having her own nail shop. She was just like a little entrepreneur," she said.

Sandoval went on to thank all the supporters who showed up at the courthouse and shared their stories.

"All the signs, all the stories that people told us, you know, it's just all the love was shown and we felt it you know as soon as we walked up, we all got emotional, and it's a moment that we're never going to forget and I will hold each and every one of them just dearly with me you know throughout this whole thing," said Sandoval. 

"So many moms came up to me and hugged me. I mean they're crying just as hard as I am, you know, like they are so, you now just invested in this and they want to see the change, and then to hear that the most he can get in three is three years? I'm like, ‘God, so this can happen again?’ And another little girl can end her life because of something that happened? And it's just not fair, you know? I hate that this happened to my daughter, but you know, at least let's make some changes, you know, so that this can stop. It happens so much. I can't, I lost count of the stories that I was told," she said. 

"It's just the amount of women, girls, teenage girls that, you know, go through this and either are told not to say anything or they're scared of saying anything. It's just, it's insane. And I am forever thankful for all the people that came today. The ones that shared their stories didn't have to tell me, you know, but they did. And it meant a lot."  

What we don't know:

It's unclear why the District Attorney’s office determined that evidence only supported an incest charge rather than rape or involuntary manslaughter. 

What you can do:

A GoFundMe has been created to help support Settles' family. 

Supporters can also find updates on the case via social media posts from Settles' cousin, Crystal Sandoval, who has been instrumental in raising public awareness about the case.

What's next:

Chavez is due back in court on May 19 for a preliminary hearing.

The family and their supporters have indicated they will continue to push for a reevaluation of the charges.