Is My Friend’s Boyfriend Lying About His Reason For Being A Registered Sex Offender?

Location: Ingham County, Michigan, USA

A friend of mine has recently entered a relationship with an individual on the Michigan Sex Offender Registry. Looking at the court records, he was charged with 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th degree CSC, but took a guilty plea deal and was only charged with 2nd degree (1st, 3rd and 4th were nolle prosequi). The case happened in February of 2021 and he was 20 at the time. He claims that a 14 year old female coworker started to pursue him, then falsely accused him of SA in retaliation when he turned her down because of her age. The way he describes it, all it takes to get charged with CSC and put on the sex offender registry in Michigan is the word of the victim, no other proof or witness is required, and because he had no money for a lawyer, he had no choice but to accept the plea deal.

I know people get framed for SA and it’s devastating, and I don’t want to downplay that. However, his explanation seems a little fishy and I’m concerned about my friend. Is his explanation consistent with MI law?