Goodyear employee arrested in abuse case

4-year-old daughter suffers 2 broken legs, 1 broken arm

Sara Bisker

staff writer

A Goodyear director and his wife have been arrested and charged with felony child abuse.

The Goodyear Police Department responded to a call from West Valley Hospital Tuesday when a 4-year-old girl was treated for two broken legs and one broken arm, said John Rowan, police spokesman.

The child's parents, Raul Varela and Tricia Varela, were each charged with felony abuse, Rowan said.

"These are serious charges," he said.

Raul Varela, 40, is the director of engineering for Goodyear.

He has been placed on indefinite paid administrative leave, said Nora Fascenelli, public information officer for Goodyear.

"Generally, if there's something of a serious nature, the [city] policy provides for placing the employee on administrative leave, pending either an investigation or resolution of the situation," she said.

He receives pay because he has not been convicted of a crime, Fascenelli said. A background check was conducted upon his offer of employment.

Varela began his employment on Sept. 25, 2006. He receives an annual salary of $121,436, plus benefits, Fascenelli said.

Tricia Varela, 39, lives in Goodyear with Raul and their six children.

Two of the children are biological and four are adopted. The victim is an adopted child, Rowan said.

The victim was in critical condition Tuesday but is now stable. She is still hospitalized, he said.

The remaining children are in custody of Child Protective Services, he said.

The investigation is continuing and additional charges are possible, he said.

Sara Drew can be reached by e-mail at sdrew@westvalleyview.com.