To answer your question about why give a half-orc an 18 cha: Charisma is not only physical appearance. Rather it is the total of factors that give people the propensity to follow a given person. His charisma doesn't come from his looks, but rather from the fact that he is fearless, decisive, and a peerless warrior. In general, people will follow whoever is willing to lead, and since he follows nobody, others are attracted to this.
Secondly, merely because there is orc in somebody doesn't necessarily mean that the orc part manifests itself negatively. The human half or 3/4 could be the outward appearance, and the orc 1/2 or 1/4 could be the muscle structure, agility, or intelligence, or all the other features that are not related to appearance. Perhaps he actually has little orc in him (1/8 or 1/16), and is only referred to as a "half-orc" for categorization purposes.
That is my thesis on how a "half-orc" can have an 18 charisma.
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