Overview
- Prosecutors said the Sexual Assault Unit is still pursuing the case at a routine pretrial hearing that set the next steps in court.
- Stephen Vincent Chavez pleaded not guilty to felony incest, taking advantage of a position of trust, and providing alcohol to a minor, and he is out of custody after posting $250,000 bail.
- The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office has told the family the case may not go to trial because the accuser is deceased and cannot testify.
- The family says a hospital rape kit found Chavez’s DNA, yet prosecutors have not filed rape charges and have told relatives the current counts could carry at most a three‑year prison term with sex‑offender registration after release.
- Relatives and supporters are maintaining a courthouse presence and pressing for a jury trial, highlighting a broader challenge in sexual assault cases where physical evidence may exist but the key witness is no longer alive.