diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/junit/JUnitTask.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/junit/JUnitTask.java
index aec7b0c74..fc66396db 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/junit/JUnitTask.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/junit/JUnitTask.java
@@ -668,6 +668,7 @@ public class JUnitTask extends Task {
             if (classLoader != null && reloading) {
                 classLoader.cleanup();
             }
+            classLoader = null;
         }
     }