A woman had her flesh burnt and eaten, was violently raped and allegedly had noughts and crosses carved on her back by her ex-boyfriend in an horrific attack.

Woman crying. Source: Thinkstock

Eight years after the woman was subjected to the abuse that has shocked police, she is finally set to see her attacker brought to justice.

Her ex-boyfriend, who cannot be named to protect the victim's identity, pleaded guilty last week to a string of charges, including sexual assault and kidnap, and will be sentenced in a Sydney court next year.

There are several lesser charges he hasn't pleaded to.

The case has stunned the most seasoned police, and the efforts of one dedicated officer - Constable Genelle Warne - in helping the woman come forward has been recognised at the highest level.

The couple had been together for about 18 months when the man, 41, forced the woman into a prolonged session of abuse at his cousin's Sydney home in 2006.

He allegedly forced her to lean over a dining chair and struck her with a belt, and held her face over a stove top, the police statement of facts says.

When she tried to flee through the locked front door, the man forced the woman into the bathroom and repeatedly asked her "Why'd you do it"?

Police allege the woman had no idea what he was talking about.

For what seemed like "hours" to the woman, he peppered her with the question in-between heavy blows to her head.

The woman was curled up in a ball in the corner when the man later returned to the bathroom with his cousin in tow, the facts state.

He allegedly forced his girlfriend to kiss his cousin's penis.

After the alleged sexual humiliation, the man used a hot hair straightener to squeeze the woman's toes, fingers and arm, the facts, tendered in the local court last year, state.

The man then ripped off the woman's burnt skin and ate it.

The assault continued in the bedroom where the man threatened her genitalia with a knife and allegedly drew noughts and crosses on her back.

As he sexually assaulted her, he held her so tight his fingers were covered in blood from her pierced skin.

The victim remained at the home for two days and didn't see a doctor.

The man, from Sydney's northwest, was charged last year.