THE abuse one woman suffered at the hands of her boyfriend was so shocking it took her six years before she could talk about it.

Her boyfriend burned the skin on both arms with a hair straightener, stripped it off and ate it, while saying: “Mmmmm”, according to a police statement of facts tendered to the court.

The terrible abuse only came to light when Blacktown Domestic Violence Officer Constable Genelle Warne made a routine follow-up call after the woman ­reported a domestic violence incident in late 2012.

“She was horrified having to tell someone what happened to her,” Constable Warne said.

Her boyfriend also used a knife to cut a game of noughts and crosses into her back, threatened to cut off her ­nipples and raped her. It was one of the state’s worst cases of domestic violence.

Almost two years after the woman walked hesitantly into Blacktown Police Station seeking help, her attacker last week pleaded guilty at Parramatta District Court to nine counts including rape, kidnapping, ­assault and causing grievous bodily harm. Another 22 charges are pending.

The 41-year-old man, who cannot be named because it may identify his victim, was remanded in custody to be sentenced on February 16 next year.

Constable Warne yesterday praised the bravery of the woman for finally having the courage to speak out: “She was still embarrassed and ashamed and she did not even want her mother to know about it.”

The court was told the abuse began at a south coast caravan park in 2005 after he let the air out of her car tyres and bashed her.

About a year later, at a friend’s house, her boyfriend asked her to put her finger into a cigar cutter so he could slice it off. She refused.

Unable to escape because he had taken the key out of the front door, the woman was forced into the bathroom where he beat her before locking her in by removing the door handle.

“She felt scared and lost hope,” the police statement of facts said.

He returned and forced her to commit sex acts on a friend before plugging in the hair straightener. When it was hot he squeezed it on the toes of her right foot before moving on to her fingers and her arms as she tried to fight him off.

“She was experiencing ­indescribably pain and was screaming ... she had never been so scared in her life,” the statement of facts said.

It was then that he ripped the skin off her arms and ate it. He later carved noughts and crosses into her back.

Constable Warne, who was last week awarded the NSW Police Officer of the Year Award for Field Operations, said the woman’s case inspired a three-day charity ride she organised from Newcastle to Blacktown which raised $10,000 for the White Ribbon Foundation.