Mother demands California sex crime law reform after daughter's suicide following incest

Carolina Sandoval is calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom to overhaul California sex crime laws after her daughter Makayla died by suicide following incest by her father, who received just one year in jail.

California mother pushes for law reform after daughter's suicide following father's incest conviction

Carolina Sandoval, 40, is calling on Governor Gavin Newsom to strengthen California's sex crime laws after her teenage daughter Makayla Rene Settles died by suicide following sexual abuse by her biological father — a man who was ultimately sentenced to just one year in county jail, NY Post Metro reports.

Stephen Vincent Chavez, 41, pleaded guilty to felony incest and furnishing alcohol to a minor and received a sentence of one year in county jail and three years' probation. Prosecutors had asked the judge to impose the maximum three-year state prison term.

"It is ridiculous. It's not justice," Sandoval said of the sentence. "I'm going to fight to change these laws because no other family should have to go through what we've gone through."

A daughter uprooted, then betrayed

Makayla, 18, had relocated from her childhood home in North Carolina to Moorpark — roughly 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles — to live with her father. In July 2025, Chavez gave her alcohol before having sex with her. Makayla died by suicide five months later.

Prosecutors did not file a rape charge, stating that the available evidence supported only the incest conviction. Chavez maintained the encounter was consensual.

Sandoval said prosecutors later told her a rape charge could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, despite Makayla having given detectives multiple statements — including a recorded video interview. After her daughter's death, she was told the evidence was no longer valid.

"They even have an audio recording of Makayla telling her cousin what happened. You can hear the heartbreak in her voice. They had all this information, but they said it wasn't enough," Sandoval said.

"Dead women tell no tales"

The Ventura County District Attorney's Office confirmed that Chavez admitted abusing a position of trust and acknowledged Makayla's particular vulnerability. He is also required to register as a sex offender for 20 years.

Erin Meister, chief deputy district attorney in Ventura County overseeing the sexual assault unit, told the Post that the possibility of a rape charge was studied by senior prosecutors and "peer reviewed by legal experts from another county, all of whom arrived at the conclusion that incest was the only felony charge supported by the facts, the law, and the evidence."

Neama Rahmani, former federal prosecutor and president of Los Angeles-based West Coast Trial Lawyers, was direct in his assessment: "Dead women tell no tales, and unfortunately, Chavez unjustly benefited from his daughter's tragic suicide. Without her testifying and establishing lack of consent, the District Attorney didn't think it could prove rape. It is a miscarriage of justice and sends the wrong message to other perpetrators of incest and sex abuse."

Calls for Newsom to act

Sandoval said other sexual abuse survivors who attended Chavez's court hearings criticized Newsom for what they described as a weak approach to prosecuting sex crimes. "They let me know this is just how he is. If anything, what happened with Makayla proves all of them right. It makes sense why everybody's so angry," she said.

Sandoval said she wants lawmakers to pass legislation in Makayla's name. "I would love for him to take the time to look at the entire case and see what went wrong and where changes can happen for other victims," she said. "It's exactly why women don't speak out. They relive everything over and over, only for the end result to come out like this. It's a slap in the face."

She described California's sex abuse and rape laws as "a huge gray area," adding: "Something has to change. It feels like they cater to the predator more than the victim."

Newsom's office said it could not comment on decisions made by local law enforcement or courts. "The suggestion that Governor Newsom does not take sexual assault seriously is simply false," a spokesperson said in a statement. "Throughout his administration, the Governor has consistently signed legislation, invested in survivor services, strengthened protections for victims, and expanded resources to prevent sexual violence and support survivors."

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If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or text the Crisis Text Line at 741741.

Source: NY Post Metro