The simplest explanation re: Epstein is that while there were in fact some genuine victims, there weren't actually very many of them. It's quite likely that the intelligence agencies funding him simply wasted a ton of money trying to entrap people who almost always said no to the "services" offered and aren't guilty of anything. Meanwhile, those intel agencies were funding Epstein's own abuse, and are roughly as guilty as he is.

Secondly, it's likely that some of the people claiming to be Epstein victims are simply lying for clout and money. I've read some of the legal cases around this, and, e.g., at least one person claiming to be an underage victim was in fact proven to be over 18 when they first met Epstein. Said person had written a book about their claimed experience and were trying to get it published... obvious monetary incentive...