These had been detailed to the court by Verheul's sister, who spoke up in his support.
She said her brother had been sexually abused by an older male when he was 15 years old, and was bullied through adolescence and into adulthood.
These two things, the judge said, provided insight into Verheul's personality and behavioural make-up, and were consistent with research on the drivers of offending.
"There are many people… who speak positively about you and, in your dealings with them, you are a hard worker, reliable and courteous," the judge said.
"But what we are dealing with is behaviour which occurs behind closed doors."
That behaviour in private was revealed in detail when Verheul, 32, went before a jury in July.
For that trial, Crown counsel Clayton Walker brought to court nine charges relating to two young women whom Verheul had known when they were all teenagers.
He was charged with two counts of sexual connection with the first girl when she was under the age of 16.
Four charges related to a single incident in his bedroom in early 2008, when he threatened the same girl with a shotgun, raped her and threatened to kill her.
When she ran away afterwards, he went after her in his car, forced her into it and took her back to the house – effectively kidnapping her.
Two further charges alleged that he twice threatened to kill her father, in a bid to stop her telling anyone about the attack.
The ninth charge related to a separate incident in 2008 or 2009, when he tried to rape a second girl in the same bedroom.
She resisted his attempts to remove her trousers and managed to flee, hiding for hours in a neighbouring property before she felt safe enough to go home.
A jury of six men and six women found Verheul guilty of all charges.
The abused young man was found to be in turn an abuser and a rapist.
The second young woman tearfully read a victim impact statement to the court on Friday describing how the attack upended her own life.
She described her memory of the incident as "a monster sitting on my chest", holding her, breathing over her.
"The feeling of being free was stolen from me in a heartbeat," she said.
The incident led to years of therapy and counselling, numerous types of anxiety and sleeping medications – and alcoholism.
The woman said she turned to alcohol immediately after the assault – drinking as much vodka as she could to block out what had happened.
She now expected to be on the drug Antabuse for life – it discourages drinking by making people feel sick when they consume alcohol.
The woman said she had been a person with "an amazing drive for being", ready for any academic or sporting challenge, but was turned into a scared and horrified little girl who could not finish high school.
Judge Collins said if any judge had one wish – a totally unrealistic wish – it would be to put victims back into the position they were in before the offending.
To the young woman, he said: "I urge upon you to accept that you did absolutely nothing wrong. None of this is your fault at all."
Speaking to defence counsel Chris Tennet, the judge acknowledged the character references from Verheul's employers and others.
But he said that underlying that character was a "serious anger problem".
"What we are really dealing with here is how a man acts in an intimate partner relationship – all those people who provided references for him will have no knowledge of that at all," the judge said.
"All the literature, all the research, all the case studies suggest that men can lead two completely separate lives."
Judge Collins sentenced Verheul to six years in prison for rape.
He sentenced him to lesser terms, to be served concurrently, for kidnapping, three charges of threatening to kill, one of commission of a crime with a firearm, attempted rape and two charges of unlawful sexual connection with a young person.
Verheul will be eligible to apply for parole in two years.
Sexual harm – do you need help?
If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone contact Safe to Talk confidentially:
• Call 0800 044 334
• Text 4334
• Email support@safetotalk.nz
• For more info or to web chat visit www.safetotalk.nz
