Prosecutors were outraged after a twisted father who supplied his 18-year-old daughter with alcohol and had sex with her before she killed herself was jailed for one year. Stephen Vincent Chavez, 41, of California, was sentenced to a year in jail and three years of felony probation after pleading guilty to one count of incest and one count of providing alcohol to a minor, prosecutors announced on Tuesday.
His daughter had been staying with him at his Moorpark home in Ventura County in July 2025. Then, after a day of drinking at a family gathering, Chavez purchased more alcohol for himself and his daughter to consume at home.
Chavez then engaged in sexual intercourse with her, the district attorney’s office said in a news release. His daughter tragically took her own life just five months later in December.
Chavez, of Moorpark, California, also admitted to taking advantage of a position of trust and that the victim was particularly vulnerable, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, in Southern California.
Several members of her family addressed the court during sentencing and provided emotional victim impact statements describing the lasting trauma caused by the defendant’s actions and the devastating loss.
Prosecutors objected to the court’s sentence and requested the maximum sentence allowed by law of three years in state prison.
“The People requested the maximum three-year state prison sentence because the defendant 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,” said Deputy District Attorney Tessa McCarty.
“While we respect the court’s decision, we continue to believe a state prison sentence was warranted under the facts of this case.”
Before Chavez entered his guilty pleas, prosecutors conducted a comprehensive review of whether additional charges, including rape, could be filed. However, they determined that incest was the only charge supported by the law, facts and admissible evidence.
