diff --git a/src/systems/optical_tactile_plugin/OpticalTactilePlugin.cc b/src/systems/optical_tactile_plugin/OpticalTactilePlugin.cc
index e2bf376e1e..92320f0de3 100644
--- a/src/systems/optical_tactile_plugin/OpticalTactilePlugin.cc
+++ b/src/systems/optical_tactile_plugin/OpticalTactilePlugin.cc
@@ -632,7 +632,7 @@ void OpticalTactilePluginPrivate::Enable(const gz::msgs::Boolean &_req)
 
   this->enabled = _req.data();
 
-  if (!_req.data())
+  if (!_req.data() && this->visualizePtr)
   {
     this->visualizePtr->RemoveNormalForcesAndContactsMarkers();
   }